West Bengal Assembly Election 2026: ECI Deletes Over 91 Lakh Names From Voter List

The Election Commission of India conducted a Special Intensive Revision of West Bengal's electoral rolls, resulting in approximately 91 lakh deletions. The move aims to remove ineligible entries, but has sparked concern about potential voter disenfranchisement and uneven district impact ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Updated: Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 19:51 [IST]

Nearly 91 lakh names have been deleted from the West Bengal electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, following a Special Intensive Revision by the Election Commission of India. The scale of the exercise has sparked concern among observers about voter disenfranchisement just weeks before polling.

Official figures show that the West Bengal electoral rolls revision combined earlier deletions of around 63 lakh names with a further 27 lakh voters removed after judicial adjudication. Election Commission officials say the process targets duplicate, deceased, shifted or otherwise ineligible entries to keep the database accurate for the coming vote.

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West Bengal's electoral rolls saw approximately 91 lakh deletions before the 2026 Assembly elections due to an Election Commission revision, sparking political debate over the removal of potentially eligible voters versus ineligible entries, particularly impacting minority and poorer households.

Political debate over West Bengal electoral rolls

The Trinamool Congress has alleged that the West Bengal electoral rolls clean-up has hit minorities, migrant workers and poorer households the hardest, potentially excluding legitimate voters. The party claims whole neighbourhoods discovered names missing. The Bharatiya Janata Party has backed the revision, arguing that the removals were needed to weed out bogus or illegal registrations.

Category	Number of voters
Earlier deletions	63 lakh
Judicially removed	27 lakh
Total deleted	Approximately 91 lakh

District impact on West Bengal electoral rolls

Deletion levels vary across West Bengal electoral rolls, with Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, Malda, Nadia and South 24 Parganas among the most affected districts. In Kolkata, nearly 7 lakh voters were removed across constituencies, sharply reducing electorates in both northern and southern parts of the city.

The Special Intensive Revision of West Bengal electoral rolls comes close to the Assembly polling schedule, intensifying scrutiny of Election Commission procedures. While officials emphasise accuracy and removal of ineligible names, political parties and residents continue to question whether genuine voters have been left without a voice.