EC releases second Bengal voter list, keeps deletion data under wraps

The Election Commission of India on Friday night released the second supplementary list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, but declined to disclose specific figures on voter deletions or inclusions.

According to an official, the updated booth-wise lists were uploaded to the Commission’s website around 11:30 pm. However, users were unable to access detailed data on additions or deletions due to reported technical glitches. “The second list has been published. We cannot divulge anything more,” the official said.

The lack of transparency follows a similar pattern seen earlier this week when the Commission released the first supplementary list of voters marked as ‘Under Adjudication’ without revealing how many cases had been resolved or how many names were removed. The move had drawn criticism from several quarters.

During the enumeration phase of the SIR exercise, a total of 58 lakh names were deleted from the electoral rolls. These deletions were attributed to reasons such as deaths, migration, duplication, and untraceable voters. As a result, the number of eligible electors in the state dropped significantly from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore .

Subsequently, the post-SIR electoral rolls published on February 28 further reduced the total number of valid voters to just over 7.04 crore , with more than 60 lakh names still under judicial scrutiny .

The revision process comes ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in the state. Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly is scheduled to be held on April 23 and 29, while counting of votes will take place on May 4.

The Commission has yet to clarify whether additional changes will be reflected in subsequent updates to the electoral rolls.