7 months ago
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Three weeks aft the enumeration signifier of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) began for West Bengal’s electoral roll, astir 27 lakh voters person been identified arsenic “dead, duplicate, untraceable and shifted” till 12 p.m. connected Friday (November 28, 2025), said sources successful the bureau of the State’s Chief Electoral Officer said. This includes astir 15,53,000 dormant voters.
Before SIR began, arsenic of October 27, 2025, West Bengal’s voters’ database officially comprised 7.6 crore electors.
Additionally, sources successful the CEO’s bureau said, arsenic of Friday’s noon, astir 58,164 duplicate voters person besides been found. Roughly 2.61 lakh voters person been recovered to beryllium untraceable, portion astir 8.88 lakh voters person been identified arsenic “shifted”.
The numbers of dead, duplicate, untraceable and shifted electors person been ascertained based connected the palmy organisation of 99.83% enumeration forms and the digitisation of astir 87.91% forms crossed the State. Around 1.31 lakh forms are yet to beryllium distributed arsenic of today, according to sources.
Notably, lone six days stay earlier the enumeration signifier ends connected December 4, and the model for the submission of enumeration forms closes for electors.
These figures presume value with the main Opposition successful the State, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), drumming up a governmental tempest implicit the removal of dead, duplicate electors, and alleged foreigners from the voters’ database up of the West Bengal Assembly elections slated for 2026. The Leader of Opposition of West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari aboriginal claimed that astir 1 crore “fake” voters are apt to beryllium deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rotation aft SIR.
According to the SIR docket released by the Election Commission of India, the draught electoral rotation pursuing the enumeration signifier volition beryllium made nationalist connected December 9. Shortly after, sources said, an further database volition beryllium published containing names of dead, duplicate, untraceable, and relocated voters, arsenic good arsenic the names of those electors whose enumeration forms were not submitted.
“Electors volition beryllium capable to taxable Forms 6, 7, and 8 lone aft the draught rotation is published. For those who volition use online, the Election Commission has made the usage of Aadhar-based e-sign mandatory,” CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal said connected Friday.
Forms 6, 7, and 8 pertain to the inclusion of caller voters, deletion of dormant voters, and exertion for changing oregon correcting an elector’s details, respectively.
Appointment of ‘observers’
The Election Commission of India has appointed retired IAS serviceman Subrata Gupta arsenic the in-charge of electoral rotation observers for the ongoing SIR successful West Bengal, to “ensure that nary eligible idiosyncratic is near retired from enrolment and that nary ineligible elector is included successful the elector roll”. Additionally, a delegation of 12 IAS officers has been appointed arsenic electoral rotation officers for 24 districts successful the State “to oversee the cardinal aspects of preparation/revision of electoral rotation and to assistance District Electoral Officers/Electoral Registration Officers successful taking timely corrective measures”.
The Election Commission has besides directed the relocation of the bureau of the CEO connected grounds of alleged information breaches pursuing protests by sections of disgruntled booth-level officers. Sources said that the Kolkata Police Commissioner has been directed to guarantee implicit information of the existing and caller bureau of the West Bengal CEO.
