EC to publish post-SIR rolls in WB on Feb 28, spelling whether voters are in, out or under scrutiny

Kolkata, Feb 26 (PTI) The post-SIR electoral rolls will be published on February 28 in West Bengal with all 7.08 crore names from the draft list figuring in it, but segregated into three distinct categories -- approved, deleted and adjudication/under consideration, an EC official said on Thursday.

The rolls, being published in compliance with Supreme Court directives, will not be the final list, since supplementary rolls will continue to be issued in phases as scrutiny and adjudication of logical discrepancy cases progress, the official said.

The rolls will, however, reflect the status of verification under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), sources said.

Crucially, the Commission has clarified that voters whose names are marked as "adjudication" will not be allowed to cast their vote until their cases are disposed of and they are formally approved. Only after being cleared and incorporated into a subsequent supplementary list will they gain voting rights, the EC official said.

Names of voters marked as "deleted" will continue to remain visible in the February 28 roll, and specific reasons for deletion will not be mentioned in the published list, the official said.

Aggrieved voters will, however, have redressal opportunities to reinstate their names in the electoral rolls later, following provisions of the poll body, he added.

According to Commission sources, voters whose names were verified by February 25, the day the EC-driven scrutiny process was closed, will be treated as eligible voters and may appear in the February 28 list with an “approved” tag alongside them.

Voters, whose cases have been referred to judicial officers appointed by the Calcutta High Court for scrutiny of "logical discrepancies" will have their names marked as "adjudication" or "under consideration".

Around 60 lakh voters are currently under such scrutiny, officials said, adding that those adjudicated but not approved will also remain ineligible to vote.

At the time of the SIR notification, West Bengal had 7.66 crore registered voters. Following the first phase of revision, over 58 lakh names were deleted on grounds of death, migration, duplication or untraceability, bringing down the electorate to 7.08 crore in the draft rolls published on December 16.

The second phase of hearings covered 1.67 crore electors, including 1.36 crore flagged for "logical discrepancies" and 31 lakh lacking mapping, officials said.

All these 7.08 crore names-including those marked deleted, pending adjudication or cleared as approved- will appear in the February 28 list under separate categories, enabling electors to ascertain the status of their entries.

Fresh applicants will be added through separate supplementary lists appended to the main roll. The Commission indicated that supplementary rolls would be published in as many phases as elections are conducted.

Officials said that printing of the rolls will begin on Friday. The lists will be made available at district magistrates' and sub-divisional officers' offices and at polling booths across the state, besides being uploaded on the Commission's website.

The exercise has triggered a political storm in the state ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday vowed to continue her fight against what she termed the "omission" of genuine voters' names, alleging a "conspiracy" to delete over 1.2 crore names from the final rolls, citing discrepancies.

Referring to the deletion of 58 lakh names after the first phase of SIR, Banerjee claimed that under the pretext of logical discrepancies, at least 20 lakh additional genuine voters were "surreptitiously removed" after the February 14 hearing deadline.

The Trinamool Congress has alleged that the scale and manner of deletions could lead to disenfranchisement, while the Commission has maintained that the revision is aimed at ensuring accuracy and removing ineligible entries.

With the February 28 publication set to offer a snapshot of the verification status of over seven crore electors, and with those under "adjudication" barred from voting until clearance, political parties are expected to closely scrutinise the categorised rolls even as the process of adjudication and finalisation continues in stages. PTI PNT SMY NN