EC begins phased publication of post-SIR voter rolls in West Bengal; 7.08 crore electors listed

The SIR exercise in the state commenced on November 4 last year with the distribution of enumeration forms.

The Election Commission on Saturday began the phased publication of post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls in West Bengal, with officials displaying hard copies in select districts, including Bankura.

As of the latest updates, the revised rolls were not yet accessible on the Commission’s official portals or mobile application.

While there was no official confirmation on the total deletions from the draft rolls, sources indicated that more than 1.35 lakh names could have been removed in Bankura district alone.

The updated list categorises 7.08 crore electors as ‘approved’, ‘deleted’ or ‘under adjudication’. The last category refers to voters whose cases are under scrutiny by designated judicial officers, with final decisions to be reflected in subsequent supplementary lists.

The SIR exercise in the state commenced on November 4 last year with the distribution of enumeration forms. After 116 days, the Commission provisionally concluded the process and released a final yet incomplete roll amid political tensions, changes in document verification norms and legal challenges.

When draft rolls were published on December 16, the electorate count fell from 7.66 crore — based on rolls valid till August 2025 — to 7.08 crore. More than 58 lakh names were removed due to reasons such as death, migration, duplication and untraceability.

In the second phase, hearings were conducted for 1.67 crore electors, including 1.36 crore flagged for “logical discrepancies” and 31 lakh cases lacking proper mapping. Around 60 lakh voters continue to remain under adjudication over discrepancies in their submitted forms.

The SIR marks the first statewide revision of its kind since 2002 and was undertaken as a statutory clean-up exercise ahead of a major election.