West Bengal Set to Delete Over 58 Lakh Names in Massive Voter Roll Cleanup

West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has ended with a sweeping overhaul of the electoral database, as 58,08,202 names are set to be deleted from the draft voter list.

Election Commission (EC) officials confirmed on Thursday that this figure, which already crossed the 50-lakh mark earlier, represents the combined count of deceased, missing, relocated, bogus, and other disqualified voters identified during the weeks-long enumeration process.

While minor adjustments may occur before the draft list is published, the Commission does not anticipate any significant shift from the current number.

According to EC sources, the state has recorded 24,18,699 deceased voters, whose names will be removed from the rolls.

The list of missing voters has also expanded, touching 12,01,462, after Booth Level Officers (BLOs) made at least three visits to their registered residences but still failed to trace them.

As per EC norms, any voter who remains untraceable despite repeated field visits is categorised as “missing” and marked for deletion pending further verification.

The enumeration has also identified a substantial number of voters who have either shifted residence or whose names appeared in multiple rolls.

A total of 19,93,087 voters have been listed under this category, and their names are being retained only at their correct addresses, with duplicate or outdated entries earmarked for removal.

The Commission has further flagged 1,37,575 voters as bogus, meaning they do not qualify to remain on the rolls, and another 57,509 voters have been placed under the “other” category, all of whom will be excluded from the draft list.

Officials said the magnitude of these deletions reflects the EC’s attempt to clean the rolls thoroughly ahead of the publication of the updated draft.

The draft electoral roll for West Bengal will be released on December 16, after which voters may raise objections, report errors, or submit missing information.

The Commission will hold hearings based on these complaints and verify documents before finalising the voter list.

The final electoral roll is scheduled for publication on February 14, 2026, following a detailed scrutiny of each category of voters.

To streamline verification, the EC has divided the electorate into three mapping categories.

The self-mapping list includes voters who appeared in the 2002 electoral roll, the year Bengal last underwent an SIR, and currently consists of 2,93,69,188 voters.

Those whose names were not in the 2002 roll but whose parents or close relatives were listed fall under the progeny-mapping category, which comprises 3,84,55,939 voters.

The third group, the non-mapping category, includes around 30 lakh voters who have no traceable history in the 2002 roll, either individually or through family members.

All voters in this group will be summoned for hearings, and even those in the first two categories may be called if any discrepancy is detected in their records.

The SIR process, which began on November 4 across 12 states and union territories, saw its deadline extended for seven states on Thursday, with Uttar Pradesh receiving the longest extension.

However, West Bengal’s schedule remains unchanged, and the state has completed the enumeration as per the original timeline.