The Election Commission on Tuesday published the draft electoral rolls of West Bengal, revealing that nearly 58 lakh names have been removed following Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Along with the draft rolls for 2026, the Commission also placed in the public domain the names of voters who figured in the 2025 electoral list but have now been deleted, clearly stating the reasons for each deletion. The exercise marks the completion of the first phase of the SIR, which was last conducted in West Bengal in 2002.
The draft electoral rolls are available on the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) West Bengal website, the Election Commission’s voter portal, and the ECINET application. A separate list of deleted voters has also been uploaded on the Commission’s portal.
According to a report filed by The Hindu, more than 58 lakh SIR enumeration forms were categorised as “uncollectable” and led to deletions. These included voters who were found to be dead, those who had permanently shifted, individuals missing from their registered addresses, and cases of duplicate entries across constituencies.
Of the deleted names, over 24 lakh voters were marked as deceased, more than 12 lakh could not be traced at their listed addresses, close to 20 lakh were found to have relocated permanently, and around 1.38 lakh names were identified as duplicates. Another 57,000 voters were removed due to other discrepancies uncovered during the enumeration process.
The Commission has provided a window for corrections and objections. “Aggrieved persons can submit their claims in Form 6 along with the Declaration Form and supporting documents after publication of the draft roll during the period fixed for receiving claims and objections, that is from 16/12/2025 till 15/01/2026,” the Commission stated on its website.
After objections are examined and corrections made, the final electoral rolls are expected to be published in February next year. The announcement of elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly is likely only after the final list is released.
The publication of the draft rolls has intensified political tensions in the state. Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee has from the very beginning strongly opposed the SIR, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise large numbers of eligible voters ahead of the polls.
Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed. “You will snatch the rights of mothers and sisters in the name of SIR?” she said. “If your names are struck off, you have tools, right? You won’t let it pass if your names are cut. The women will fight in the front, and the men will be behind them.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, defended the revision exercise and accused the Trinamool Congress of protecting illegal voters. “Mamata Banerjee is creating a ruckus as she fears losing power since the deceased, fake and illegal voters are being removed,” Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said. “Trinamool has a margin of only 22 lakh votes over the BJP.”
