Kolkata, Apr 8:
Nearly 91 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal following the Special Intensive Revision exercise in the state, according to data released by the Election Commission.
The poll panel is yet to announce the finally altered voter base for the state after the roll revision process.
According to official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, were deleted since the SIR process began in November last year, reducing the voter base from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
More than 60.06 lakh electors, who were placed in the “under adjudication” category, were part of the 7.04 crore voter base.
Over 27.16 lakh of 60.06 lakh ‘under adjudication’ voters have been deleted during a scrutiny by judicial officers, the EC data said.
More than 32.68 lakh of those in the ‘under adjudication’ category have been retained and included in the final rolls.
The final deletions, since the beginning of the SIR process, were around 90.83 lakh, according to the EC data.
“The revision exercise has been carried out in a phased and transparent manner. District-wise data has now been placed in the public domain to ensure complete accountability,” a senior EC official said.
Of 60.06 lakh voters under adjudication, data for 59.84 lakh has been published, and the remaining 22,163 cases have been disposed of but are yet to be e-signed, he said.
“Once the pending procedural formalities, including e-signatures, are completed, there may be marginal changes in both deletion and inclusion figures,” the official said.