Half of Bengal's 100+ voters in electoral list are dead: ECI findings

Nearly half of West Bengal’s voters aged 100 or above are reportedly deceased, yet their names remain on the state’s electoral rolls, according to initial findings by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The exact figure will be confirmed only after the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list is completed, said an insider from the chief electoral officer (CEO) office.

Current ECI data indicates that approximately 13,000 post-century voters are listed on West Bengal’s electoral rolls. The SIR is expected to begin shortly, with the CEO’s office directed to complete preparations, including printing of enumeration forms, by 15 October.

During a recent visit to West Bengal to review SIR readiness, a central ECI team focused on the removal of deceased and duplicate voters from the rolls. “The process will likely start with deleting the names of deceased post-century voters,” the CEO insider said.

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Duplicate voters are being reviewed in two categories:

Intra-state duplicates – voters who have shifted residences within West Bengal but whose names remain on both old and new addresses. In these cases, the names on the old addresses will be deleted.

Inter-state duplicates – voters who have migrated to other states and registered there, yet their names continue to exist in West Bengal’s voter list.

The upcoming SIR is unfolding amid strong opposition from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). Last week, chief minister Mamata Banerjee warned that she would not tolerate the deletion of voters from a particular religion.

The following day, TMC MP Partha Bhowmik said West Bengal would “be on the boil” if even a single legitimate voter’s name was removed during the SIR. On Saturday, Kunal Ghosh, TMC state general secretary, threatened to organize a protest of one lakh people in Delhi should any legal voter be deleted from the state’s electoral rolls.

The SIR process in West Bengal is expected to address these discrepancies while ensuring that all legitimate voters retain their rights, balancing electoral accuracy with political sensitivities in the state.

With IANS inputs