66 lakh voters removed in West Bengal’s SIR process

Decision pending regarding 60 lakh voters

(‘SIR’ – Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls)

West Bengal – With the State Assembly elections approaching, the process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls has gained momentum. The new voters’ list was published on 28 February. According to data from the Election Commission of India, the total number of voters in the state is now more than 7 crore. Approximately 66 lakh names have been removed from the list, while a decision regarding around 60 lakh voters is still pending — meaning their voting rights have not yet been finally determined.

1. The Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, stated that during the process, about 58 lakh applications were identified involving voters who had died, migrated elsewhere, or whose names were registered twice. After around 116 days of door-to-door verification, the list was finalised. Through Form-7, 5,46,053 names were deleted, while approximately 1,82,000 new names were added.

2. In the state’s Nadia district, around 2,73,000 names were removed, and in Bankura, 1,18,000 names were deleted. In seven constituencies of North Kolkata, 4,07,000 names were reduced. In Hooghly, 3,34,000 names were deleted, and in Alipurduar, more than 1,00,000 names were removed. Such a large-scale deletion of names could significantly affect the election results.

This is a conspiracy to harass Bengalis: Mamata Banerjee

Following the publication of the new voters’ list, politics in West Bengal has heated up. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that this is a conspiracy to harass Bengali people. She claimed that the number of deleted names could reach as high as 80 lakhs. (How was Mamata Banerjee able to state this figure ? Is it because she herself knows the number of bogus voters that were allegedly created under her watch, and therefore could mention this number ? – Editor)

Tanmoy Ghosh of the All India Trinamool Congress warned of legal and political action. The Bharatiya Janata Party stated that political parties should contest elections based on a correct voters’ list and not focus on profit or loss.

Editorial Perspective

The number of voters removed in West Bengal is approaching 1 crore. It can be argued that Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress have so far ruled West Bengal on the basis of these alleged bogus voters.