Over 9,000 voter names axed in Kaliaganj ahead of by-poll, EC flags dead and shifted voters

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has removed 9,228 names from the electoral roll of the Kaliaganj Assembly constituency in West Bengal’s Nadia district during a special summary revision held from April 8 to April 24. This revision was undertaken ahead of a pending by-election following the death of Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed in February 2025.

According to sources within the commission, out of the 9,228 deletions, 6,274 names belonged to deceased voters, while 2,954 were voters who had shifted to other locations and already held Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) at their new addresses. The constituency had a total of approximately 2.52 lakh voters before the revision began.

The removal of over 9,000 names has drawn attention as it represents about 3.66% of the total voter count in the constituency. As per Election Commission norms, if deletions exceed 2% of the total electorate, a re-verification of the process is usually ordered to ensure accuracy and prevent exclusion of genuine voters. A senior official confirmed that the percentage in Kaliaganj had surpassed this threshold.

The revision also led to the addition of 1,669 new voters to the electoral roll. After accounting for these additions, the net reduction in the number of voters stands at 7,559. The updated list reflects this decrease ahead of the by-election, for which the date is yet to be announced. However, officials stated that preparations are underway to enable polls to be held any time after April.

Officials noted that such a high volume of deletions during a summary revision is uncommon in West Bengal. Typically, voter list updates are conducted annually across India between October and December, with the revised rolls published on January 5. However, a special summary revision was carried out in Kaliaganj due to the upcoming by-election.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, margins of victory in nearly 70 constituencies in West Bengal were under 10,000 votes, highlighting the importance of accurate voter rolls. In Kaliaganj, however, the TMC candidate had won by a margin of over 46,000 votes. Despite that, the number of deleted entries in this constituency is considered significant by officials monitoring electoral data.