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West Bengal Voter List Shock: 58 Lakh Excludable Names Found After ECI Review

The Election Commission has completed a major review of West Bengal's voter list. They found a staggering 58 lakh names that should be excluded, including millions of deceased or relocated voters. This clean-up is part of a special process before the state's upcoming Assembly elections. The final, corrected list will be published in February.

Key Points: ECI Finds 58 Lakh Excludable Voters in West Bengal SIR Exercise

  • ECI identifies over 58 lakh excludable voters in West Bengal's special revision
  • 24 lakh are deceased voters, nearly 20 lakh have shifted residence
  • Draft voters' list to be published on December 16 for public scrutiny
  • Final electoral roll on February 14 will precede crucial Assembly election dates
2 min read

SIR in Bengal: ECI identifies 58 lakh excludable voters after enumeration phase ends

ECI identifies 58 lakh excludable voters in Bengal, including 24 lakh deceased, as draft list nears. Transparency push ahead of Assembly polls.

"This decision... is aimed at bringing transparency in the process of hearing on claims and objections - Election Commission of India"

Kolkata, Dec 12

With the enumeration phase of the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal complete, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has identified 58 lakh excludable voters from the current voters' list.

As per figures available from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), based on the trend of digitisation of the duly filled enumeration forms collected by the booth-level officers (BLOs) from voters till Thursday night, a total of 58,08,232 voters have been found as excludable.

Out of them, 24,18,699 are deceased voters. The total number of shifted voters, that is, voters who have moved elsewhere, is 19 93,087. The rest are duplicate voters, that is, voters having names at two places, and also the voters who are found suitable for exclusion for other reasons.

The total number of voters as per the current list as of October 27, 2025, is 7,66,37,529. The SIR exercise started on November 4. The draft voters' list will be published on December 16. The final voters' list will be published on February 14, which will end the first stage of the three-stage SIR exercise.

Thereafter, the ECI will start the second phase of the revision exercise, which will basically involve filing claims and objections, and the notice phase -- which is issuance, hearing, verification, and decision on enumeration forms and disposal of claims and objections -- to be done concurrently by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

After the second stage is over, the third and final stage, which is the publication of the final electoral roll, will be on February 14. Soon after the publication of the final electoral roll, the ECI is expected to announce the dates for the crucial Assembly elections in the state.

The ECI has decided to hand over the separate lists of excludable voters to the booth-level agents (BLAs) of all the political parties in the state that are registered with it.

This decision of the ECI to hand over the separate list to the BLAs of different political parties is aimed at bringing transparency in the process of hearing on claims and objections that will happen in the second stage of the SIR exercise

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
While cleaning the list is necessary, I hope genuine voters aren't excluded by mistake. The process of claims and objections must be smooth and accessible to all, especially for those who have shifted within the state.
R
Rohit P
24 lakh deceased voters still on the list? That's shocking. Where was the accountability all these years? This SIR was long overdue. Better late than never, I suppose.
S
Sarah B
As an observer, this seems like a very technical and thorough process. The three-stage plan with clear deadlines is impressive. The real test will be the 'claims and objections' phase – hope it's conducted fairly.
V
Vikram M
Duplicate voters and shifted voters account for a big chunk. People move for work and education. The system needs to be more dynamic to update addresses seamlessly. Aadhaar linkage could help, but must protect privacy.
K
Karthik V
Respectfully, I have some concerns. While the intent is good, such large-scale revisions before a crucial election can be misused for voter suppression. The ECI must ensure the BLOs and BLAs act without political bias. The proof will be in the final roll.
M
Meera T
Good initiative by ECI! A clean voter list

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