Kolkata, 4 December (H.S.): The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal has revealed that close to 50 lakh names have been identified as liable for deletion from the electoral roll. The exercise began on November 4 and, with daily digitized updates, the figures have been rising steadily.
By Tuesday evening, the number stood at a little over 46 lakh, but by Wednesday night it climbed to nearly 50 lakh, indicating that around 4 lakh new deletion-worthy entries were added within just 24 hours.
According to officials in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, more than 23 lakh of these 50 lakh names fall under the “deceased voters” category. The second largest group comprises “shifted voters,” whose count exceeds 18 lakh. Over 7 lakh voters have been classified as “missing,” while the remaining names were flagged due to duplication or other discrepancies.
The final status of all such entries will be clarified once the draft electoral roll is published on December 16. After the draft is released, the notice phase will begin, which includes issuing notices, hearings, field verification, and disposal of claims and objections from December 16 to February 17. The Election Commission will then undertake checks on different parameters of the electoral roll and grant approval for final publication on February 10.
The final voters’ list will be published on February 14, a revised date from the earlier schedule of February 7.
As of October 27, West Bengal’s total number of registered voters stood at 7,66,37,529.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
