By Shabana Javed
Kolkata: A major controversy has emerged in West Bengal following the release of updated voter list data, revealing that millions of names have been excluded across multiple districts. The scale of voters deletions has sparked concern among political parties and residents alike, particularly in districts with high population densities.
According to figures released by the Election Commission, a staggering over 90 lakh voters have been omitted from voter rolls across different phases of the revision process up to April 7. This includes names removed from both the February 28 final list and the subsequent list of voters kept under consideration. The district of North 24 Parganas has recorded the highest total number of exclusions when both lists are taken into account. From the list of voters under consideration, 3,25,666 names were omitted. Additionally, in the February 28 list alone, 12,60,096 voters were excluded.
This makes North 24 Parganas the worst-affected district overall, raising serious questions about the accuracy and fairness of the revision process.
Murshidabad recorded the highest number of exclusions from the list under consideration alone. Out of the voters being reviewed in the district, 4,55,137 names were removed. Additionally, 2,93,822 names were excluded in the February 28 list. Combined, the district has seen 7,48,959 voters omitted, making it one of the most impacted regions in the state. Several other districts have also witnessed largescale exclusions:
In Malda, 2,39,375 names were removed from the consideration list, while 4,59,530 names were omitted in the earlier February list. South 24 Parganas saw a combined exclusion of 10,91,098 voters. In Purba Medinipur, 1,65,345 voters have been removed.
The metropolitan district of Kolkata also witnessed significant omissions, with 6,97,160 names excluded from the rolls. Out of nearly 60 lakh voters placed under adjudication, 27,16,393 names have already been omitted, according to the latest data. Earlier, on February 28, the first final list showed that 63,66,952 names were excluded. When combined, the total number of omissions has now reached 90,83,345 voters, indicating a massive overhaul of the electoral database.
Before the draft list was even published, approximately 58 lakh names had already been removed. This was followed by an additional five lakh exclusions during the first phase of the final list.
The EC has clarified that out of 60,06,675 voters initially kept under consideration, data for 59,84,512 individuals has been officially released. However, 22,163 cases are still pending.
Officials have indicated that once this process is completed, further changes may occur, including the possibility of additional names being either removed or reinstated in the voter list. The largescale exclusions have triggered among voters, particularly in districts with already high deletion numbers. Concerns are being raised about whether genuine voters have been wrongly removed, potentially impacting electoral participation.
