Kolkata: New data from West Bengal’s voter list revision shows a stark contrast between the 34 lakh appeals filed and the small number of names restored so far. Ahead of the second phase of polling in the state that was held on April 29, the Election Commission (EC) released an additional list restoring 1,468 voters to the electoral roll while six names were removed.
This list is based on decisions of tribunals appointed by the Supreme Court, which were set up to hear appeals related to changes made under the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls. A similar list had been released earlier on April 22, a day before the first phase of voting, when 139 voters were added and eight were removed.
Together, the two lists show 1,607 voters added and only 14 removed.
According to the Supreme Court’s earlier order, more than 34 lakh appeals were filed before these tribunals. Against that backdrop, the number of restored voters appears extremely small.
Large-scale deletions during SIR
Under the SIR exercise, around 91 lakh voters were removed from West Bengal’s electoral roll. Of these, 63 lakh were marked as absent, shifted, deceased or duplicate entries. The EC said that around 27 lakh names were deleted due to what it described as “logical discrepancies”. These included spelling errors, gender entry mistakes and mismatches in age between parents and children or grandparents and grandchildren.
The apex court had appointed 19 tribunals to hear appeals against these decisions. However, it is still not clear how many of the 34 lakh appeals were actually heard or resolved.
West Bengal’s chief electoral officer said that he does not have consolidated data on the number of cases disposed of and described the process as largely paperwork-based.
Very small share of appeals resolved
Even when combined, the 1,607 restored names and 14 deletions make up less than 0.05 percent of the total appeals filed. Most tribunal decisions so far have resulted in voters being added back to the list. The ratio of removal to addition stands at roughly 1:115, meaning one deletion for every 115 additions.
The scale of appeals has left many voters confused, including some whose names had been removed earlier but later restored. In several cases, individuals said they were unsure about the status of family members whose names were also deleted.
A municipal leader from Murshidabad, whose name appeared in the first restored list, said that while his name was added back, the status of his brothers is still unclear. He is a voter from the Samserganj constituency, which saw the highest number of deletions at 74,775 names.
Process challenges and legal hurdles
Experts working on voter data and legal assistance say many people are struggling to understand how to file appeals. They point out that most voters are not familiar with tribunal procedures, where complaints must be submitted in detail within a limited word count along with supporting documents.
There are several cases where members of the same family have been treated differently in the voter list, with some retained and others removed.
Concerns have been raised about the speed and structure of the process. Some believe that the SIR exercise may have been implemented without enough time for proper verification, given the scale of documentation required.
Wider impact on voters
In multiple instances, even individuals who have served as polling officials or have long voting records found their names removed under what the EC terms “logical discrepancies”. In some cases, officials appointed for election duty were also affected by deletions.
There are also cases where elderly citizens and long-time voters were required to repeatedly submit documents to prove eligibility but still faced removal from the rolls.
Several affected voters approached tribunals and even the Supreme Court, but in many cases, courts sent them back to the tribunal process without direct intervention.
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply