The Election Commission has identified more than 58 lakh invalid voters in West Bengal during its special intensive revision (SIR) drive, marking one of the largest roll corrections in recent years. The names flagged include voters found dead, missing from their addresses, registered in multiple locations or listed with fictitious credentials. These entries will now be removed from the draft rolls scheduled for publication on December 16.
Officials said over 24 lakh voters were marked deceased, while nearly 12 lakh were untraceable at their registered addresses. Another 19.93 lakh voters were found enrolled in multiple locations, and 1.37 lakh listed with fabricated details. Around 57,000 entries have been placed in an &ldquo;others&rdquo; category after forms could not be delivered or returned. All these names are set to be deleted, with an appeal window open from December 16 to January 15.
The EC is also preparing to call nearly 30 lakh voters for hearings and verification after discovering that neither they nor their families were linked to the 2002 electoral rolls, a key benchmark for this year&rsquo;s unprecedented documentation exercise. Meanwhile, 2.93 crore voters have confirmed their historical linkage to the 2002 rolls through enumeration forms submitted during the SIR.
Even as Bengal sticks to the original SIR timeline, the EC has extended deadlines for six other states and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands. However, Bengal has not received an extension, despite completing 99.96% digitisation, and has instead been asked to speed up the rationalisation of polling stations, now due by February 7.

EC Flags 58 Lakh Invalid Voters in Bengal

Massive cleanup in Bengal rolls as EC identifies dead, absent and duplicate voters

EC Flags 58 Lakh Invalid Voters in Bengal

Massive cleanup in Bengal rolls as EC identifies dead, absent and duplicate voters

December 12, 2025 | 10:53 IST