West Bengal SIR: Nearly 91 lakh names deleted from electoral rolls after judicial scrutiny
According to data released by the Election Commission of India, around 91 lakh voters have been deleted from the voter rolls in West Bengal following the implementation of Special Intensive Revision in the State.
The poll panel is yet to officially announce the final changed voter base for the State after the list revision process.
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However, as per the available figures, the total strikeout rate in the state at this point stands at over 11.85%, based on the 7.66 crore voters counted at the end of October last year.
The latest write-off figure since the start of the SIR process stood at just over 90.83 lakh.
According to ECI data, more than 27.16 lakh of the 60.06 lakh ‘under jurisdiction’ voters have been deleted during the now concluded canvass by judicial officers.
The figure shows that about 45.22% of the cases that came under judicial review after the post-SIR electoral rolls were published on February 28 were deleted.
More than 32.68 lakh of those in the ‘subject to jurisdiction’ category were retained and included in the final lists.
ECI figures showed that maximum deletions were recorded in the Muslim-majority Murshidabad district; More than 4.55 lakh of the 11.01 lakh names under judicial scrutiny here have been removed from the voter rolls, taking the invalid deletion figure in the district to around 41.33%.
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Significant deletions were also recorded in North 24 Parganas district bordering Bangladesh, where more than 3.25 lakh of the 5.91 lakh voters examined were found to be ineligible to vote, and Malda, where more than 2.39 lakh of the 8.28 lakh voters under judicial scrutiny were deleted.
According to ECI data, the write-off figures after the decision in South 24 Parganas district stood at around 2.23 lakh, in Purba Bardhaman district 2.09 lakh and in Nadia 2.98 lakh.
In percentage terms, the post-decision deletions in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts, which are perceptually dominated by members of the Hindu namashudra Matua community, were a whopping 77.86% and 55.08% respectively.
In Kolkata South, which covers Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur assembly constituency, more than 28,000 voters were deleted and the percentage of deletion was pegged at 36.19 during the proceedings.
Around 39,000 voters surveyed in Kolkata North were found to be ineligible to vote and the write-off percentage there was put at around 64.
According to official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names constituting around 8.3% of the electorate have been deleted since the SIR process started in November last year, reducing the voter base from around 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
More than 60.06 lakh voters placed in the ‘subject to jurisdiction’ category were part of the 7.04 crore voter base.
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Voters aggrieved by the deletion of their names from the final rolls have the option of moving courts specially established in the state pursuant to Supreme Court orders, but it is not yet clear whether voters deemed eligible by the court judges will be able to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections.
“The revision implementation has been carried out in a phased and transparent manner. District-wise data has now been made publicly available to ensure full accountability,” said a senior ECI official.
He said that out of 60.06 lakh voters who have been tried, data on 59.84 lakh has been officially released and the remaining 22,163 cases have been destroyed but are yet to be e-signed.
“Once the pending procedural formalities, including e-signatures, are completed, there may be marginal changes in both deletion and inclusion figures,” the official said.
He said that the entire exercise was carried out in accordance with the established rules.
“Any additional participation at this stage will be subject to legal provisions and instructions from the competent authorities, if any,” the official said.
Meanwhile, with the publication of the final supplementary list, the electoral rolls of the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections have been “frozen” after midnight on Monday, April 6, 2026, in accordance with the prescribed norms, he said.
152 of the 294 seats in the parliament will go to the polls on April 23 in the first phase, and the remaining 142 seats will go to the polls on April 29 in the second phase. Voting for the second round will be frozen on April 9.
“No other person will be included in the electoral roll at this stage. The list is frozen as per law after the last date of nomination for the first phase,” a senior ECI official said. PTI.
“Any changes in this list will depend solely on any new directions given by the Supreme Court (if any),” he said.
The apex court, where the SIR issue of West Bengal is heard, will next hear the case on April 13.
It was published – 07 April 2026 15:33 IST
