58 lakh voters have been deleted on several grounds by the Election Commission on Tuesday from the West Bengal’s draft of the electoral rolls published ahead of SIR.
The names of the voters were also published by the commission on its website but were erased from the draft rolls of 2026. The officials have said that the state is expected to carry the names of 70,816,631 voters, 5,820,898.
2,400,000 voters have been declared dead, more than 1,200,000 voters were not traceable in the registered addresses, and around 2,000,000 were reported to have permanently migrated from their previous constituencies, the PTI reported.
The interval between the publication of the draft electoral rolls and the start of hearings is necessitated by logistical requirements, including the printing of hearing notices, their service to the concerned electors, and the creation of a digital record of these notices in the Election Commission’s database, an official said.
“Aggrieved persons can submit their claims in Form 6 along with the Declaration Form and supporting documents after publication of the draft roll during the period fixed for receiving claims and objections, i.e., 16/12/2025 till 15/01/2026,” the commission website said.
Special Roll Observer for West Bengal and former bureaucrat Subrata Gupta sought to allay public concerns on Saturday, urging voters whose names do not appear in the draft electoral rolls not to panic.
He said that around 30 lakh voters whose details could not be matched with the 2002 electoral rolls would be summoned for hearings, where they would be given an opportunity to submit documents and establish their eligibility before a final decision is taken.
