Bengal: 139 Voter Inclusions Out of 27 Lakh Deletions by Tribunals, Study Finds

27 Lakh voters across West Bengal were marked as 'under adjudication' following the SIR exercise.

With voting for the first phase underway, the second phase of polling in the state is scheduled for 29 April.

(Illustration: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

A comprehensive analysis of the data from all 80,719 booths in West Bengal regarding voter inclusions made by the Appellate Tribunals by Kolkata-based research organisation, Sabar Institute, shows only 139 fresh inclusions, out of a total of 27 lakh voters that were put under adjudication across West Bengal.

With voting for the first phase underway, the second phase of polling in the state is scheduled for 29 April.

The study also shows that 486 names that are repeated, who appeared in supplementary lists before the tribunal review. There was no reason given for being counted again. Additionally, the ECI has not given out a complete list of names, or how many applications were being considered by the tribunals.

Manoj Kumar, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer said that judges working at various tribunals have discarded 657 cases that were appearing from disputes linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

It was found that male inclusions exceed female inclusions, with 84 male inclusions and 55 female inclusions.

33.8 percent of all fresh inclusions were from Malda alone, amounting to 47 of the 139 total. Purba Medinipur amounted to the least inclusions, with 2.

The top Assembly Constituencies based on fresh inclusions were found to be Purulia with 14, Sujapur with 10, Chopra with 9, Raiganj with 8, and Mothabhari with 8.

The tribunals are set to release another list before the voting takes place on April 29 2026.