Kolkata, 16 Dec

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday published West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision(SIR), deleting over 58 lakh voters’ names on grounds such as death, migration, duplication and non-submission of enumeration forms, officials said.

According to official data, 58,20,898 names have been excluded, reducing the state’s electorate from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore after the SIR exercise conducted between November 4 and December 11. The scale of deletions has affected several high-profile assembly constituencies and intensified political fault lines ahead of elections due early next year.

A senior EC official said hearings for affected voters would begin in about a week. The gap, the official explained, is required for printing and serving hearing notices and creating digital backups in the commission’s database.

Officials said voters whose names were deleted, those filing claims and objections, and electors whose enumeration forms showed logical discrepancies would be summoned for hearings. In addition, around 85 lakh enumeration forms showed name mismatches with the 2002 electoral rolls, and these voters may also be called.

EC sources said the total number of voters summoned for hearings could approach two crore.

Constituency-wise data released by the EC has drawn sharp political reactions. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur seat recorded 44,787 deletions out of 2,06,295 voters, nearly four times the deletions in Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s Nandigram, which saw 10,599 names removed from 2,78,212 voters.

The highest number of deletions was reported from Chowringhee in north Kolkata, with 74,553 names struck off. Kolkata Port saw 63,730 deletions, while Tollygunge recorded 35,309 removals. Large-scale deletions were also reported from Dum Dum, North Dum Dum and Chandannagar. At the district level, South 24 Parganas accounted for the highest deletions at 8,16,047.

Commission sources said most deletions were due to “uncollectable SIR enumeration forms”, including cases of deceased voters, permanent migration, untraceable electors and duplicate entries. A breakup showed 24,16,852 voters marked as dead, 19,88,076 as permanently shifted and 12,20,038 as missing or untraceable.

The EC stressed that deletion from the draft roll does not end a voter’s chance of restoration. Claims can be filed in Form 6 with supporting documents between December 16, 2025, and January 15, 2026.

Special Roll Observer Subrata Gupta said voters should not panic, noting that around 30 lakh voters would be called for hearings to establish eligibility.

The publication has triggered political sparring, with the TMC alleging a “joint conspiracy” by the BJP and the EC, a charge rejected by the BJP, which said the process had “only just begun”.