West Bengal Elections 2026: Muslim-majority Murshidabad, Malda record highest ‘doubtful’ voters

Kolkata: The Election Commission’s final electoral rolls for West Bengal have revealed that the state’s Muslim-majority border districts harbour the highest concentration of voters whose eligibility remains unverified following a massive state-wide residency audit.

According to official data released after the Special Information Revision (SIR) exercise, 60.06 lakh voters across the state have been categorised as "under adjudication." The districts of Murshidabad and Malda, both of which share a border with Bangladesh, lead the state in pending verifications with 11.01 lakh and 8.28 lakh voters under scrutiny, respectively.

Geographic Concentration of Scrutiny

The adjudication process is heavily weighted toward districts that historically serve as political and demographic flashpoints. Beyond the leaders in the north, significant numbers of pending voters were reported in:

• North 24 Parganas: 5.91 lakh
• South 24 Parganas: 5.22 lakh
• Uttar Dinajpur: 4.80 lakh
• Purba Bardhaman: 3.65 lakh

In contrast, districts such as Kalimpong and Jhargram recorded the fewest electors under review, with 6,790 and 6,682 names, respectively.

The Adjudication Process

The inclusion of these 60.06 lakh names in the final rolls is temporary, designed to prevent the accidental disenfranchisement of legitimate citizens while judicial officers continue a rigorous document review.

"Electors under adjudication have been included to ensure that no eligible person is excluded while verification of documents and claims continues," a senior election official stated. He noted that the process would involve a formal inquiry, adding, "Necessary corrections or deletions, if warranted, will be carried out after completion of due inquiry."

A Shrinking Electorate

The SIR exercise has already resulted in an 8.3 per cent contraction of West Bengal's voter base. The total number of registered electors fell from 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.

As judicial officers prepare to issue supplementary lists based on their findings, the final composition of the electorate remains in flux. This uncertainty arrives just as political parties begin calibrating their strategies for the 2026 assembly elections, where even marginal changes to voter rolls in border districts could shift the balance of power.

With inputs from PTI