The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday made public a significant draft list of voters whose names have been deleted from the electoral rolls of West Bengal. This action follows the completion of the first phase of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise aimed at cleaning up the state's voter database.
Massive Deletions: The Key Numbers
The draft list reveals a large-scale removal of names from the rolls. According to the poll body, the deletions are based on specific grounds. A total of over 58 lakh enumeration forms were deemed "uncollectable," leading to the exclusion of these voters from the preliminary 2026 draft roll.
The commission provided a detailed breakdown of the deleted voters. The list includes 24.17 lakh deceased voters, 19.88 lakh voters who have permanently relocated, 12.20 lakh voters who were absent from their registered addresses, and 1.38 lakh entries identified as duplicate or fake. These names were present in the 2025 electoral rolls but have been removed from the current draft version.
The Revision Process and Next Steps
The SIR process was officially launched on November 4, following an announcement on October 27. At that time, West Bengal's total electorate stood at 7,66,37,529 voters. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conducted a door-to-door delivery of enumeration forms for verification.
The second phase of the exercise is set to begin after December 16. This crucial period will allow for the filing of claims and objections by citizens who believe their names have been wrongly deleted. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will concurrently manage the notice phase, which involves hearings, verification, and final decisions on these applications.
"The BLO, in consultation with the BLAs, has prepared the following list of voters whose enumeration forms have not been received," stated the EC. It clarified that aggrieved persons can submit their claims using Form 6, along with a declaration and supporting documents, once the Draft Roll 2026 is published.
Scrutiny and Discrepancies Under the Lens
Beyond the deletions, the revision has flagged millions of entries for various discrepancies. EC-appointed special observer Subrata Gupta, a retired IAS officer, highlighted the scale of irregularities found in the collected forms.
Over 1.34 crore submitted forms contain logical discrepancies, ranging from the same person being listed as both father and mother to abnormal age gaps between voters and their parents. Gupta noted that these errors could be either bona fide mistakes or mala fide intentions.
Additional challenges include 30 lakh "unmapped" forms that cannot be linked to the 2002 electoral rolls and over 85 lakh forms with name mismatches against the older database. Hearings for voters in the "no-mapping" category are scheduled to start on Wednesday.
Furthermore, approximately 1.7 crore voters have been placed under varying degrees of scrutiny. BLOs will be tasked with re-verifying their details through fresh door-to-door visits after the draft rolls are published.
Opportunity for Hearing and Final Roll
Election officials have emphasized that inclusion in the initial draft list does not guarantee final retention. Conversely, appearing on the deletion list is not the end of the road. All voters flagged during the process will be given a full opportunity to be heard.
"There will also be claims and objections from aggrieved voters whose names get deleted from the draft rolls. Hearings will be conducted in each case to ensure an accurate final roll," assured Subrata Gupta. The commission's goal is to ensure the final electoral roll is as clean and accurate as possible.
The draft list is currently available for public viewing on the commission's official portal: ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in/asd_sir. Voters are encouraged to check their status and participate in the claims and objections process to secure their voting rights.
