Key Points
Over 58.8 lakh names are likely to be excluded from West Bengal’s electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision.
The deletions include deceased, missing, shifted and duplicate voters, along with those marked as ‘fake’.
Constituency-wise data shows sharp variations, with some urban seats recording large-scale deletions.
More than 58 lakh names are set to be removed from West Bengal’s voter list following the completion of the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) on 11 December 2025. The exercise has identified a large number of deceased, missing, relocated, duplicate and ‘fake’ voters across constituencies. Final figures are set to be released after the publication of the draft electoral roll on 16 December 2025.
Official data indicates that a total of 58,80,202 names are likely to be excluded once the draft list is prepared. While minor changes are possible before finalisation, election officials have said there is little scope for significant variation from the current numbers.
Among those marked for deletion are 24,18,699 voters identified as deceased. Another 12,11,462 electors have been categorised as missing. In addition, 19,90,387 voters were found to have shifted addresses within the State, resulting in their names appearing in multiple locations. In such cases, entries have been retained at only one place.
The Election Commission has also identified 1,37,575 voters as ‘fake’, whose names will not appear in the draft list. A further 57,509 electors have been placed under an ‘other’ category and are also set to be excluded.
Objections and claims will be heard after the draft list is published, following which the final list is to be released on 14 February 2026, after verification of documents and evidence.
As part of the SIR process, electors have been grouped into three categories based on their linkage to the 2002 voter list: ‘Own Mapping’ – 2.93 crore voters whose names appeared in the 2002 rolls; ‘Progeny Mapping’ – 3.84 crore voters who have been linked through parents or close relatives; ‘Non-Mapping’ – nearly 30 lakh voters who could not establish any such linkage to the 2002 list.
Election officials have said all voters in the ‘non-mapping’ category will be called for hearings after the draft roll is published. Several age discrepancies in the ‘progeny mapping’ category have also been identified. The ECI said that voters in the first two categories may also be summoned if inconsistencies are found during scrutiny.
Constituency-wise data released by the Commission has drawn attention due to stark variations across the State. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhowanipore seat has seen 44,787 deletions from a January 2025 base of 1,61,509 voters. In Nandigram, represented by BJP Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari, 10,599 names have been removed out of 2,78,212 voters.
Several other urban constituencies have reported high numbers. Kolkata Port recorded 63,730 deletions, Tollygunge 35,309, Dum Dum 33,862, Dum Dum North 33,912, and Ballygunge 65,171. Chowringhee in North Kolkata has reported the highest constituency-level deletions at 74,553, while Kotulpur in Bankura district recorded the lowest at 5,678.
District-wise, South 24 Parganas has topped the list with over 8.16 lakh deletions. The district remains politically significant, being a stronghold of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Election officials have said artificial intelligence tools are being used to detect duplicate entries, discrepancies in photographs and inconsistencies in familial linkages to the 2002 list. Reports have also been sought from district authorities regarding high-rise buildings, group housing societies and large slum clusters to assess the need for additional polling booths.
With more than 58 lakh names removed in the first phase itself, the SIR exercise has become a central issue ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections. The Election Commission has maintained that hearings and verification mechanisms will ensure that no eligible voter is excluded before the final roll is published.
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