Kolkata, 16 December (H.S.) :

The draft electoral rolls for West Bengal were published on Tuesday ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, marking the beginning of the claims and objections hearing process. Notably, a large number of voters may be called for hearings even if their names appear in the draft list.

According to Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal, voters may be asked to produce documents related to identity and residence during the hearings. If a voter fails to submit the required documents, the Election Commission will decide, after verification of facts, whether the name should be included in the final electoral roll.

The Election Commission said around 58 lakh names have been excluded from the draft list. These include voters recorded as deceased, those who have permanently shifted, could not be traced, or were absent during the enumeration process. Voters who participated in enumeration as per procedure have been included in the draft rolls, and notices for hearings will be issued on the basis of this list.

The Commission further stated that nearly 30 lakh voters could not be fully mapped. Those whose linkage from the 2002 Special Intensive Revision could not be established, but whose names appear in the 2026 draft rolls, may be called for hearings. In addition, voters included in the Commission’s logical discrepancy list will also receive notices. The number of such voters is estimated at around 1 crore 67 lakh. Hearings will be mandatory in cases of unusual age gaps between father and son, errors in family mapping, or other technical inconsistencies. Voters with gender-related discrepancies will also be required to appear for hearings.

At the same time, a relief window has been kept open for the nearly 58 lakh voters whose names were removed from the draft list. If a voter claims to be alive, has been wrongly marked as deceased, could not be included during enumeration for valid reasons, or if migration details were incorrectly recorded, a fresh application can be submitted. Such voters will be required to file Form 6 along with a declaration form and supporting documents.

The Election Commission has made it clear that the entire process will be carried out in a transparent manner to ensure that no eligible voter is wrongly excluded from the final electoral roll.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh