Over 58 lakh names dropped from West Bengal draft voter list ahead of Assembly elections 2026

PTC Web Desk: In a major development ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state has released details of large-scale deletions from the draft electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

According to official sources from the West Bengal CEO’s office, a total of 5,820,898 voters, more than 58 lakh pre-existing electors, have been removed from the draft voter list. The deletions were carried out on grounds, including death, permanent relocation, duplication of entries, voters being untraceable and other miscellaneous reasons.

Data shared by the election authorities show that the highest number of deletions, over 24 lakh names, are attributed to deceased voters. Nearly 20 lakh electors were removed after being found to have permanently shifted from their registered constituencies, while over 12 lakh voters were marked as missing as they could not be traced at their recorded addresses. Additionally, more than 1.38 lakh names were struck off due to duplicate entries, and around 57,000 voters were deleted for other reasons.

Category-wise breakup of deleted voters:

Dead: 2,416,852

Relocated: 1,988,076

Missing: 1,220,038

Duplicate entries: 138,328

Other reasons: 57,604

Total deletions: 5,820,898

The Election Commission has clarified that individuals who believe their names were wrongly removed can file claims using Form 6, along with a declaration and supporting documents. Claims and objections can be submitted from the date of publication of the Draft Roll 2026 up to January 15, 2026, after which the final electoral rolls will be notified.

The draft voter list has been published shortly after the completion of the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision, which concluded late last week. The updated rolls are considered crucial as the state prepares for Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.