West Bengal electoral roll update: The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday started publishing the updated electoral rolls in West Bengal in phases. Data from Bankura district shows that about 1.18 lakh names have been removed since the State-wide Summary Revision (SIR) process began. Hard copies of the new rolls have been displayed in districts like Bankura and Cooch Behar, but as of the latest reports, the updated lists were not yet available online on the EC portals or mobile app, according to a report by PTI.
In Bankura, the electorate was 30,33,830 when the SIR exercise began on November 4 last year. The draft rolls published on December 16 had already reduced this number to 29,01,009. During the next phase of hearings and scrutiny, around 4,000 more names were deleted, while a few thousand new applications under Form 6 – meant for adding new voters – were approved, the report mentioned.
Meanwhile, lakhs of voters who were earlier cleared by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) may now face removal from the rolls. This comes after Supreme Court-appointed judicial officers began reviewing the eligibility of 60,06,675 electors – about 8.5% of the total electorate, according to a report by The Indian Express.
More than half a dozen EROs and Assistant EROs, who are responsible for maintaining electoral rolls, told the news outlet that many names they had already approved – with documents properly uploaded – were later “reversed” and sent for review after the Election Commission’s micro-observers pointed out certain discrepancies.
Officials said the number of such cases increased sharply around the last day of hearings by EROs and AEROs, which was February 14. According to some estimates, the figure rose from a few lakhs to more than 60 lakh cases in a short span of time.
Sudden surge in 60 lakh voter review cases
One ERO said the first phase of the SIR in November-December was carried out carefully, with enumeration forms collected and uploaded properly. “The micro-observers were present during the hearings. It was only February 11 onward that they started sending back the cases we had approved for inclusion in the final roll,” the ERO told IE.
This happened just days before the February 14 deadline for hearings. The ERO said there was no time left to fix any possible issues in the uploaded documents. On February 14, the ERO’s login on the ECI’s ECINET platform through ERONET no longer showed the option to upload documents. It is learnt that even a serving senior IAS officer’s name, which had been approved, was sent back for review.
Another ERO said the micro-observers had not raised objections during the hearing stage but later returned thousands of approved names for review through ECINET.
Now, 530 judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand have been assigned to review the documents of these 60 lakh electors. EROs say they are no longer involved and are unclear about the status of cases. “When I do not know how many electors of my AC (Assembly Constituency) are pending with the judicial officer, what will the voter know,” one ERO said. He added that their login no longer shows pending cases or decisions.
Murshidabad, Malda, South & North 24 Parganas top pending voter list
As per the Supreme Court’s order, 530 judges have begun reviewing whether these voters should remain on the rolls or be removed.
Official data accessed by The Indian Express shows that the highest number of pending cases is in Murshidabad district (11 lakh), followed by Malda (8.28 lakh), South 24 Parganas (5.22 lakh) and North 24 Parganas (5 lakh). The fewest cases are in Jhargram (6,682) and Kalimpong (6,790).
Until the judicial officers clear their names, these 60 lakh voters will not be able to vote in the upcoming Assembly elections. Their names will appear in the final electoral roll with the remark “under adjudication”. This remark will be removed later through supplementary lists if judicial officers approve them, IE reported citing officials.
EC’s SIR process completed in 13 states
The Election Commission had announced the SIR across the country on June 24 last year and has completed the process in 13 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal. However, several unusual decisions have been taken in the state.
To understand how judicial officers came to review decisions made by statutory authorities, the news outlet visited three districts and spoke to several EROs, AEROs and roll observers. Apart from 8,100 micro-observers, the Election Commission had also appointed 37 roll observers and a special roll observer for West Bengal.
AI-generated voter IDs, document irregularities flagged in West Bengal SIR
While EROs and AEROs spoke about changing instructions and last-minute updates to the Election Commission’s online portal for officials and Booth Level Officers (BLOs), observers and state EC officials alleged irregularities in the uploaded documents. Issues included the uploading of AI-generated Voter IDs and documents other than the 13 listed by the EC in its October 27, 2025 instructions for the SIR in West Bengal and other states, as per the report.
Under Section 13B of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, electoral rolls are prepared and revised by an ERO – a government officer appointed by the Election Commission in consultation with the state government. Only the ERO or AERO can issue notices, conduct hearings and decide whether a person is eligible to be an elector.
However, in West Bengal, the Election Commission appointed around 8,100 micro-observers – Central government employees – on December 19 last year to check documents and attend hearings. This step was not taken in any other state.
While the Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that micro-observers were meant only to assist EROs and AEROs, the Trinamool Congress has alleged that they have taken over the powers of these officials.