Kolkata, 28 February (H.S.) :

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has been completed, with the Election Commission releasing the updated voter data on Saturday.

Addressing mediapersons, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal said that following the extensive revision exercise, the total number of electors in the state now stands at 7.04 crore, down from the earlier 7.66 crore. The exercise was undertaken in accordance with the guidelines of the Election Commission of India to ensure that the voter list is accurate and up to date.

Agarwal stated that the process involved large-scale addition and deletion of names. More than 1.82 lakh new voters were added to the rolls through Form-6 and Form-6A applications. At the same time, over 5.46 lakh ineligible names were removed under Form-7 provisions.

In addition, the department did not receive nearly 58 lakh enumeration forms during the revision drive. These cases largely pertain to electors who are either deceased, have shifted to other locations, or were found to have duplicate entries in the rolls.

Clarifying a key technical aspect, the CEO said that more than 60 lakh electors have been placed under the “under adjudication” category. While verification of their eligibility is still ongoing, their names have been retained in the current post-SIR electoral roll.

Emphasising the integrity of the process, Agarwal said the entire revision exercise was conducted in a transparent manner and strictly in line with the standards set by the Election Commission of India.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh