9 million names deleted in Bengal SIR, Murshidabad fares worst in adjudication cuts

ALabialize nina from carolina gazillion names were deleted as component part of the special intensive revisal (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Tuesday, adding that roughly 2.71 million of those voters were removed following adjudication as part of the controversial “logical discrepancy” category.The announcement — which came just weeks before Bengal goes to the polls in two phases — also said that the Muslim-majority district of Murshidabad recorded the highest number of deletions under the logical discrepancy category. The border district of Nadia – home to large numbers of Dalit communities who came to India as refugees in the decades following Partition – saw the highest percentage of rejections under the category and roughly three out of every four people flagged for adjudication here were deleted.“Around six million voters’ claims were kept under adjudication by judicial officers, after the final roll was published on February 28. Of these six million cases, around 45% were found ineligible, and their names have been dropped from the electoral roll,” said a senior ECI official in Kolkata.The people who failed adjudication and live in the 152 constituencies voting in the first phase on April 23 will not be able to vote this time because the rolls were frozen on Monday. For those in the second phase, there is a slim chance some can make their way back via a tribunal hearing though these are yet to become fully operational. With roughly 11.6% of its pre-SIR electoral roll now removed, Bengal has seen the third highest deletions among the nine states where the controversial process has been completed. Only Gujarat and Chhattisgarh are ahead of it.SIR began in Bengal in November last year. In the draft roll published on December 16, 2025, around 5.8 million names were removed.In the final roll published on February 28, the number of deletions rose to 6.36 million but ECI also flagged another six million people under the “logical discrepancy” category.After weeks of tussle between the poll panel and the state government, the Supreme Court intervened. Roughly 700 judicial officers disposed of these cases – often containing discrepancies in names, title changes, and age mismatch – rejecting around 45% of the applications.These people, numbering 2.71 million, can still appeal before 19 tribunals headed by former judges but the forums are yet to become fully operational. The number of tribunal hearings held so far is yet to be confirmed. The scale of deletions in Bengal is unprecedented, especially so close to the polls.According to the data, 9.1 million names have been deleted from the rolls. However, this drops to 8.9 million when additions are accounted for.ECI data showed that of the 6,006,675 “logical discrepancy” cases under adjudication, around 5,984,512 cases were disposed of by judicial officers appointed by the Calcutta high court. Of these 5.9 million cases, 2,716,393 names were deleted, while 3,268,119 voters were found eligible and included in the voters list.In terms of absolute numbers, the districts recording the highest number of deletions were Murshidabad (455,137), North 24 Parganas (325,666), Malda (239,375), South 24 Parganas (222,929) and Purba Bardhaman (209,805).Murshidabad and Malda are Muslim-dominated districts bordering Bangladesh; North 24 Parganas and Nadia, also bordering districts, have the highest population of the Matua community, a scheduled caste sect that has large numbers of members who are refugees.In terms of percentages, Nadia recorded the sharpest rejection rate in the state at 77.9%, followed by Hooghly at 70.3%. Kolkata North recorded a rejection rate of 63.9%, followed by Dakshin Dinajpur (58.1%) and East Burdwan (57.4%). .North 24 Parganas saw 55.1% found not eligible.In terms of acceptance rates, Bankura recorded the highest at 83.3%, followed by Purulia at 82.3%. Jhargram came third at 81.4%. Kolkata South recorded a 63.6% acceptance rate.An ECI official said that the appellate tribunals are yet to start functioning.“The Supreme Court has requested the chief justice of the Calcutta high court to constitute a team of three former senior-most chief justices or judges to prescribe a procedure that would be mandatorily followed by all tribunals. A software also needs to be developed based on the SOP. The tribunals are likely to start functioning soon,” the official said, asking not to be named.TMC supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee promised legal support to those moving the tribunals.“Several names were deleted in Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Nadia. Names have been handpicked before deletion. Names from the Matua community in Bagda and Gaighata (in North 24 Parganas) have been deleted,” Banerjee said while addressing a rally at Chakdah in Nadia district on Tuesday.Senior BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar, who serves as the Union minister of state, said that “those Indian citizens who have been left out and have approached the tribunal will be included in the voters’ list.”Leader of opposition West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari said: “Does Mamata Banerjee want dead voters to cast their votes? It is because of her that the judiciary got involved and tribunals had to be set up. It is because of her that many voters, whose names have bene deleted, will not be able to vote this time.”