Over 72,000 voters struck from Jorasanko; 1.67 lakh flagged by EC due to discrepancies | See details

The release of data from West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process has caused a significant political uproar, revealing serious anomalies in the state’s electoral roll. The Election Commission (EC) has expressed grave suspicion over the data of 1 crore 67 lakh 45 thousand 911 voters due to multiple, often unbelievable inconsistencies. These glaring irregularities, which point towards the presence of potential fraudulent voters, include 85 lakh forms with errors in the father's name, over 11 lakh cases where the voter's age is less than 15 years younger than their father, and 24 lakh cases of voters having more than six children.

The official figures for the first phase of SIR show that over 58 lakh 17 thousand 851 voters have been officially removed from the list. The reasons for omission include 24.19 lakh dead voters, 19.92 lakh shifted voters, and 12.10 lakh missing voters. Geographically, the highest numbers of removals are concentrated in South 24 Parganas (8.16 lakh), North 24 Parganas (7.92 lakh), and Howrah (4.47 lakh). Notably, the maximum number of dropped names is from Kolkata, with Chowringhee and Jorasanko recording the highest exclusions in the state, with 74,553 and 72,900 names removed, respectively.

The comparison of key assembly seats reveals major political implications. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's constituency, Bhavanipur, saw 44,787 names dropped (a 21.71% removal rate), which is over four times the number of removals in Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s seat, Nandigram (10,599 names dropped). The EC maintains that the 1.67 crore suspected voters will be called for hearings after Booth Level Officers (BLOs) conduct door-to-door verification. Meanwhile, the final voter list will be officially released on February 14, 2026, after addressing all claims and objections.