EC Releases Second Voter List Ahead of Bengal Polls
No clarity on deletions as technical glitches block access to key data
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 28th March: The Election Commission of India on Friday night published the second supplementary list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, but refrained from disclosing key details regarding voter additions or deletions.
An Election Commission official confirmed the release but declined to elaborate. “The second list has been published. We cannot divulge anything more,” the official said.
While booth-wise lists were uploaded on the Commission’s website around 11:30 pm, pages containing data on inclusions and deletions remained inaccessible due to reported technical glitches, raising concerns over transparency.
Earlier this week, the poll panel had released the first supplementary list of ‘Under Adjudication’ voters. However, it had similarly withheld figures on deletions and resolved cases, drawing criticism from political stakeholders and observers.
The ongoing revision exercise has already led to the deletion of nearly 58 lakh names following the enumeration phase, reducing the total number of electors from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore. Subsequent revisions brought the figure down further to just over 7.04 crore, with more than 60 lakh entries currently under judicial scrutiny.
The deletions were attributed to factors such as death, migration, duplication, and untraceability of voters.
The electoral roll revision comes ahead of the high-stakes 294-member West Bengal Assembly elections, scheduled to be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
