The scale of West Bengal's voter list purge is hard to miss. According to data released by the Election Commission (EC), nearly 91 lakh names have been deleted from the electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The figure has ballooned beyond the initial count released on February 28, turning a routine revision into one of the biggest electoral roll clean-ups in the state's recent memory.
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A 43% increase in deletions
The early data showed 63.66 lakh deletions, or about 8.3% of the electorate, since the revision began in November. At that stage, the voter base had already fallen from 7.66 crore to a little over 7.04 crore. A major chunk of those entries, 60.06 lakh, were marked “under adjudication,” meaning they still needed further scrutiny.
Judicial officers later deleted over 27.16 lakh of the disputed names, while around 32.68 lakh were retained and added back to the rolls.
The voter list row is far from over
The timing makes this more than a paperwork story. With the final supplementary list released for 152 seats, the rolls for the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections have been frozen.
Total deletions now stand at about 90.83 lakh. The Election Commission has said the revision was carried out in a phased and transparent manner, with district-wise data published for accountability.
The Election Commission stated that the revision took place in a "phased and transparent manner". They released district-wise data to ensure accountability.
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Of the state’s 294 seats, 152 will vote on April 23, while the remaining 142 go to polls on April 29. The second-phase rolls freeze on April 9.
For now, no more names can be added unless legal provisions or directions from competent authorities allow it. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter on April 13, The New Indian Express reported.
