The Election Commission officially began publishing West Bengal’s final electoral rolls on Saturday, February 28, 2026, marking the conclusion of a 116-day Special Intensive Revision. The process, the first of its kind since 2002, has seen the state's electorate shrink significantly from a pre-SIR figure of 7.66 crore to approximately 7.08 crore in the draft stage, with additional deletions occurring in the final phase.
The publication has classified voters into three distinct categories: "Approved," "Deleted," and "Under Adjudication." While hard copies were displayed at district offices in Bankura, Cooch Behar, and Nadia, the online portals and mobile applications experienced delays in syncing the massive data sets, leading to anxious crowds at cyber cafes and government offices across the state.
The "cleansing" of the rolls focused on removing absent, deceased, shifted, and duplicate voters. Early reports from Saturday’s release show substantial net reductions across key districts:
Bankura: Electorate dropped from 30.33 lakh to approximately 29.15 lakh, a net deletion of 1.18 lakh names.
Nadia: Approximately 2.73 lakh names were removed, bringing the final count to 41.45 lakh.
Alipurduar: Deletions totaled 1.02 lakh, leaving 11.96 lakh voters on the final list.
North Kolkata: Saw a massive removal of 4.07 lakh names; 3.90 lakh during the draft stage and an additional 17,000 in the final roll.
| Category | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Approved | Voters cleared during the draft stage or subsequent hearings. | Active |
| Deleted | Names removed due to death, migration, duplication, or failure to provide documents. | Inactive (Appealable) |
| Under Adjudication | Nearly 60 lakh voters whose status is being decided by judicial officers. | Pending (Supplementary List) |
Following a Supreme Court intervention, nearly 60 lakh voters have been placed under the scrutiny of judicial officers. These individuals are not yet fully "approved" or "deleted." Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Sujay Paul has directed judicial officers to work through weekends to finalize these cases.
Those cleared by the judiciary will be added to the rolls through supplementary lists in the coming weeks. EC officials described today's list as "final but dynamic," as these additions will continue until the last date of candidate nominations for the upcoming April Assembly elections.
The drastic shrinking of the voter list has ignited a fresh war of words between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. TMC MLA Paresh Ram Das accused the BJP of trying to influence the election by removing "legal Indian voters," while EC sources maintain that deletions were processed strictly after due verification of "logical discrepancies."
On the ground, the lack of immediate online access led to "serpentine queues" at Block Development Offices and District Magistrate offices. Residents were seen scanning printed sheets on notice boards and photographing entries to confirm their status.
Online: Visit voters.eci.gov.in or ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in.
App: Use the ECINET app and enter your EPIC (Voter ID) number.
Offline: Visit your local BDO, SDO, or DEO office to check the hard copies.
Note: If your name is in the "Deleted" category, you can file an appeal before the District Election Officer (DEO) immediately.