Election Commission of India Releases Second Voter List in West Bengal

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made public the second supplementary voter list as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. This announcement was made on March 27, 2026, although the exact numbers of voter deletions and inclusions have not been disclosed.

An official from the ECI stated, "The second list has been published. We cannot divulge anything more." The lack of detail has drawn scrutiny, with sources indicating that approximately 1.3 million voter names are currently under adjudication, potentially impacting the overall electoral process.

On the ECI’s official website, booth-wise lists were made available late at night on March 27, but the sections detailing deletions and inclusions were inaccessible due to reported technical glitches. The publication of the first supplementary list occurred earlier on March 23, yet it too did not provide clarity on the status of voter names, resulting in criticism from various groups.

Previously, during the enumeration phase of the SIR, about 5.8 million names were removed from the voter rolls. This adjustment brought the total number of eligible voters in West Bengal down from 76.6 million to 70.8 million, citing reasons such as deaths, migration, duplication, and untraceability.

Following the revisions, the post-SIR voter rolls released on February 28 further reduced the eligible voter count to just over 70.4 million, with more than 6 million names still under judicial review. West Bengal's elections for the 294-member Assembly are scheduled for April 23 and 29, with the counting of votes expected to take place on May 4.

The political environment in West Bengal remains tense, as critical comments have emerged regarding the voting rights of citizens. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ECI of restricting these rights and hinted at broader implications for citizenship.