The draft voter list for West Bengal's 2026 elections was published on Tuesday. Hearings will now begin. Even if your name is on the draft list, you may be called for a hearing. You may be asked for documents. And if you cannot produce those documents, the Election Commission will consider whether your name will remain on the final voter list. Learn in detail who will be called for hearings.
Already, nearly 58 lakh names have been removed from the voter list. Those who are listed as dead in the Commission's records, permanently relocated, could not be found, or were absent during the enumeration phase, are primarily on the exclusion list for now. All those who participated in the enumeration phase, following the rules, have their names on the draft list. Calls for hearings will now come from this draft list.
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Who will be called for hearings?
1. Nearly 30 lakh voters whose mapping was not possible will be called for hearings. Those who were not linked to the 2002 SIR but have names on the 2026 draft may be summoned.
2. Those whose names are on the Commission's logical discrepancy list will be called. The number of such voters is nearly 1 crore 67 lakh. Even if names appear in progeny mapping and self-mapping, the possibility of being called is not low. However, if the age difference between father and son in the enumeration form is suspicious, or if there are discrepancies in progeny mapping, they will definitely be called.
3. Gender mismatches will also result in hearing calls.
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At the same time, among the nearly 58 lakh names excluded from the draft list, if any of them want to apply as voters – meaning they were absent during the enumeration phase for some reason or believe the relocation information is incorrect, or their names appeared on the death list despite being alive – such voters can apply afresh with Form 6 along with a declaration form and supporting documents.
