The Election Commission of India (ECI) deleted nearly 59 lakh names from West Bengal’s electoral rolls during its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, citing dead, duplicate, permanently shifted, and absent voters.
The massive clean-up has sparked political chatter across the state.
According to the poll panel, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhawanipore Assembly constituency recorded 44,788 “uncollectable” enumeration forms (EFs). Bhawanipore had 1,61,509 voters in January 2025, but 44,787 names were removed in the latest revision.
Meanwhile, Chowringhee constituency in Kolkata reported the highest number of uncollectable EFs at 74,505, followed by Jorasanko with 67,578. Other constituencies such as Kolkata Port, Ballygunj, and Bhawanipore also showed abnormally high deletions, raising concerns among Commission officials.
In Nandigram, Suvendu Adhikari’s seat recorded 10,599 deletions out of 2,78,212 voters.
The ECI categorised the deletions under ASDD (absent, shifted, dead, duplicate). Officials explained that these included individuals who had permanently relocated, were untraceable, deceased, or enrolled multiple times.
Additionally, the Chief Electoral Officer’s office flagged serious irregularities in the data. Around 12 lakh EFs showed an abnormal age gap of only 15 years between parents and children. Commission officials questioned the credibility of such entries, noting that while possible in isolated cases, the scale appeared highly suspicious.
The constituency-wise deletions, released after the December 11 deadline for EF submissions, have intensified political debate in West Bengal ahead of future elections.
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