West Bengal: EC releases fourth supplementary roll, 45% voters deleted ahead of polls

Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday released the fourth supplementary voter list in poll-bound West Bengal, following the disposal of cases involving voters marked as “under adjudication”.

While officials confirmed the release, the EC did not disclose the total number of inclusions or deletions.

Sources, however, indicated that nearly two lakh names were included in the latest list. Of the total 60.06 lakh voters earlier placed under adjudication, around 40 lakh cases have been resolved so far.

Based on these, approximately 35 lakh voters have been covered across four supplementary lists released till date.

Notably, about 16.75 lakh voters, nearly 45 per cent of those processed, have reportedly been dropped from the rolls.

Although the EC has not officially confirmed these figures, the scale of deletions is significantly higher than earlier estimates, which suggested around 40 per cent removals.

Massive deletions ahead of first phase voting

The development comes just ahead of the notification for the first phase of Assembly elections, scheduled to be issued on Monday.

The first phase of polling will be held on April 23 across 152 constituencies spanning 16 districts in North and South Bengal.

Three key districts, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad, account for nearly 24 lakh voters who were under adjudication.

As per earlier data, Malda had around 8.28 lakh such voters, Murshidabad 11.01 lakh, and Uttar Dinajpur about 4.8 lakh.

With large-scale deletions now reported, the voter composition in these districts is expected to undergo a significant shift, potentially influencing electoral outcomes, political analysts suggest.

Appeals process begins, uncertainty persists

Following directions from the Supreme Court, voters whose names have been deleted can now appeal before an Appellate Tribunal.

The EC has enabled an online option titled “Submit Appeal for Individuals (Under Adjudication)” on its website.

However, despite finalising the names of 19 retired judges for the tribunals, their offices were yet to be set up as of Sunday. This raises uncertainty over whether appeals can be processed before the elections.

As per EC rules, voter list changes are typically allowed until the last date of nomination filing, April 6, for these constituencies.

However, officials clarified that this provision usually applies to routine additions and deletions through Form 6 and Form 7, not special intensive revisions (SIR).

In this case, the Supreme Court has directed that eligible voters under adjudication must be included in the rolls up to a day before polling.

With the fourth list now released, speculation remains over whether more supplementary lists will follow before voting. 

The matter related to Bengal’s special revision exercise is also likely to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court later this week.

The outcome will determine whether those excluded from the latest lists can regain their voting rights before polling day.