The Election Commission of India (ECI) has provisionally identified 11,472 voters as “ineligible” for inclusion in the final electoral roll of West Bengal following the completion of hearings conducted under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. These names are now likely to be deleted, subject to final publication by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
According to official data available with the Commission, the ineligible status has been recorded only after hearings were completed, underscoring that the deletions are outcome-based and not automatic. So far, hearings have concluded for 930,229 voters, all of whom were issued notices seeking clarification regarding their eligibility.
Scale of the SIR Exercise
The SIR exercise underway in West Bengal is among the largest voter verification drives conducted in recent years. Commission data shows that a total of 6,578,058 notices have been generated till date, while 7,419,356 cases are still pending notice generation across districts.
Of the notices generated:
3,249,091 have been delivered
3,328,967 remain pending delivery
Hearings have been conducted in approximately 9.3 lakh cases, while the total number of pending cases stands at 1,414,180, including 781,641 cases pending for more than five days, reflecting the administrative load on election machinery.
Mass Deletions Already Undertaken
Prior to this stage, the Commission had already deleted nearly 5.8 million names from the draft electoral roll during earlier phases of revision. In addition, around 3 million voters remain under the “no mapping” category, indicating that their residential or identity details could not be fully verified.
Since December 27, slightly over 900,000 voters have been summoned for hearings, and only after this process have the 11,472 voters been marked ineligible.
Commission records indicate that 46,794 cases have been verified so far, while 434 cases remain unverified. Based on decisions taken by EROs and Assistant EROs, 11,472 voters have been declared ineligible for final publication, while 34 cases have been kept pending for final consideration.
District-Wise Picture
District-level data reveals sharp variations across the state. Nadia district has reported the highest number of ineligible voters at 9,228, accounting for the bulk of deletions so far. In Nadia alone:
494,532 notices were issued
290,923 notices were delivered
127,127 hearings were conducted
At the other end of the spectrum, no ineligible voters have been identified so far in Kolkata South and Bankura, despite significant notice generation. Kolkata South recorded 136,561 notices, while Bankura recorded 163,357 notices, with hearings still underway or pending.
Several districts have reported smaller numbers of ineligible voters:
Hooghly: 989
Birbhum: 264
Purba Bardhaman: 167
Dakshin Dinajpur: 195
North 24 Parganas: 147
Paschim Medinipur: 105
Malda: 15
Minimal figures were recorded in Cooch Behar (10), Jalpaiguri (4), Darjeeling (2), Uttar Dinajpur (2), Alipurduar (9), Kalimpong (65), Jhargram (3), Paschim Bardhaman (4) and Purulia (44).
In urban districts, Kolkata North has reported 54 ineligible voters, South 24 Parganas 69, Murshidabad 68, and Howrah 26.
The SIR exercise has unfolded amid political tension and protests, including demonstrations by sections of booth-level officers and concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged pressure on election staff. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that the process is strictly rule-based, hearing-driven, and aimed at ensuring a clean, accurate and credible electoral roll ahead of upcoming elections.
