SIR Leads to Mass Deletion in West Bengal Voter List; Over 58 Lakh Names Removed

Kolkata: Ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Election Commission has removed over 58 lakh names from the state’s voter list following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), triggering sharp criticism and renewed concerns over the disenfranchisement of eligible voters.

The large-scale deletions are reflected in the draft electoral rolls published on Tuesday, December 16. According to the Election Commission, the revision was carried out to identify deceased voters, those who have changed residence, and individuals whose names appeared in more than one constituency. However, the sheer scale of the exercise has raised questions about its impact on voting rights.

Official data shows that around 58,20,898 names were deleted during the SIR process, which began on November 4. Commission sources said many deletions were linked to “uncollectable” enumeration forms. Voters were removed on grounds such as being unavailable at their registered addresses, having permanently shifted, being marked as deceased, or being listed as duplicate voters. Failure to submit verification forms or supporting documents also led to deletions.

A breakdown of the figures indicates that over 24 lakh voters were marked as deceased, more than 12 lakh could not be traced at their registered addresses, close to 20 lakh were shown as having shifted permanently, and about 1.38 lakh were identified as having duplicate entries. Another 57,000 names were removed due to issues flagged during the enumeration process.

Following the revision, the total number of voters in West Bengal now stands at 7,08,16,631, a steep fall from about 7.66 crore recorded in January 2025. The Election Commission has said that voters whose names have been deleted, as well as those seeking fresh inclusion, can file claims and objections until January 15, 2026, using Form 6 along with supporting documents.

Along with the draft rolls, the Commission has published a separate list of voters whose names appeared in the 2025 rolls but were removed from the 2026 draft, citing specific reasons for each deletion. The draft electoral rolls and deletion lists have been made available on the websites of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and the Election Commission, as well as on the ECINET application.