What Happened
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) released the final electoral rolls for West Bengal on February 28, 2026, following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
- The total electorate dropped from approximately 7.66 crore (before SIR) to 7.04 crore — a reduction of over 61 lakh names (61.78 lakh).
- Over 5.46 lakh electors were formally deleted through Form-7 (deletion applications); more than 1.82 lakh new voters were added via Form-6 and Form-6A.
- Approximately 58 lakh enumeration forms were not received during the revision exercise — covering deceased, shifted, and duplicate electors — leading to their removal from the rolls.
- Over 60 lakh electors remain in an "under adjudication" category but were provisionally included in the published rolls pending resolution of their cases.
- The final list was published ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, making the revised rolls the basis for the next election.
Static Topic Bridges
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — Constitutional and Statutory Basis
A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is the most comprehensive form of electoral roll revision, involving physical enumeration at each household. It is distinct from the annual Summary Revision (which relies on voter-initiated applications) and the periodic Intensive Revision (which updates rolls through booth-level officers). The ECI derives authority for SIR from two provisions: Article 324 of the Constitution of India (which vests superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls in the ECI) and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (which empowers the ECI to revise electoral rolls at any time).
- Article 326: Establishes adult suffrage; citizenship is a prerequisite for voter registration.
- Section 16, Representation of the People Act, 1950: Lists disqualifications for voter registration — non-citizenship, unsound mind, and corrupt practice conviction.
- Form-6: Application for inclusion of name in the electoral roll.
- Form-6A: Application for inclusion by overseas voters.
- Form-7: Application for deletion of an entry (by the person themselves or any elector in the constituency).
- Nationwide SIR Phase-II: Launched November 4, 2025, across 9 states and 3 UTs; West Bengal SIR was a major component ahead of state assembly polls.
Connection to this news: The 61.78 lakh net reduction reflects the SIR process catching entries that routine annual updates miss — deceased voters, those who have relocated, duplicate entries, and, controversially, alleged non-citizen entries that were challenged by local officials.
Electoral Rolls — Preparation and Constitutional Framework
The preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls is a Constitutional function assigned exclusively to the Election Commission of India. The Representation of the People Act, 1950, governs the preparation of electoral rolls, while the Representation of the People Act, 1951, governs the conduct of elections. The electoral roll for each constituency is prepared under the supervision of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), a district-level official, with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) doing ground-level work.
- Representation of the People Act, 1950: Sections 13A-27 govern electoral rolls — preparation, revision, claims, and objections.
- Qualifying date for voter registration: January 1 of the calendar year (or other dates specified by ECI for special revisions).
- ECI has added four quarterly registration windows — January 1, April 1, July 1, October 1 — allowing youth to register closer to their 18th birthday.
- The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) at the state level supervises the ERO network.
- Historically, 13 SIR exercises have been held nationally since 1952.
Connection to this news: The West Bengal SIR was the largest recent application of this mechanism at a single-state scale, with 61 lakh deletions representing about 8% of the electorate — a scale that has generated significant legal and political debate about due process in deletion.
Electoral Integrity vs. Due Process — Constitutional Tensions
The SIR exercise in West Bengal generated constitutional debate on two counts: (a) the basis for large-scale deletion of names without individual notification in each case, and (b) the risk of disenfranchising genuine voters, especially migrants and mobile populations. The right to vote, while not explicitly enumerated in Part III of the Constitution, has been held by the Supreme Court (in Jyoti Basu v. Debi Ghosal, 1982 and PUCL v. Union of India, 2003) to be a statutory right under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, subject to constitutional regulation.
- PUCL v. Union of India (2003): SC held the right to vote is a statutory (not fundamental) right, but ECI's jurisdiction under Article 324 is plenary.
- Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner (1978): SC held Article 324 is a residual plenary power that ECI can exercise in absence of specific legislation.
- Section 22, Representation of the People Act, 1950: Provides for correction of entries; Section 23 for inclusion of names.
- Persons in "under adjudication" status — over 60 lakh in West Bengal — face uncertainty about their voter status until cases are resolved by EROs.
Connection to this news: The 60+ lakh voters kept in "under adjudication" status highlights the due process challenge in large-scale SIR exercises — balancing the goal of clean electoral rolls against the risk of disenfranchising eligible citizens.
Key Facts & Data
- West Bengal electorate before SIR: ~7.66 crore.
- West Bengal electorate after SIR: 7,04,59,284 (~7.04 crore).
- Net reduction: ~61.78 lakh voters.
- Formal deletions via Form-7: over 5.46 lakh.
- New additions via Form-6/6A: over 1.82 lakh.
- Non-receipt enumeration forms (deceased, shifted, duplicates): ~58 lakh.
- "Under adjudication" but provisionally included: over 60 lakh.
- Final rolls published: February 28, 2026.
- SIR legal basis: Article 324 (Constitution) + Section 21(3) of Representation of the People Act, 1950.
- Total historical national SIR exercises: 13 (since 1952).