West Bengal Voter Rolls Shrink by 91 Lakh

West Bengal's electoral rolls have shrunk by nearly 91 lakh voters following a Special Intensive Revision exercise, prompting accusations from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the Bharatiya Janata Party is manipulating the process to influence the upcoming Assembly elections. The deletions, confirmed by Election Commission data, reduced the state's total electorate from 7.66 crore to about 6.76 crore, with polling set for April 23 and 29 across 294 constituencies and results due on May 4.

The revision, which concluded after adjudicating around 60 lakh claims and objections, removed 64 lakh voters classified as absent, shifted, dead, or duplicates, alongside 27 lakh deemed ineligible after review. Judicial officers and appellate tribunals, as directed by the Supreme Court, oversaw the process to address disputed cases. Affected voters can appeal through 19 tribunals, though the final rolls were frozen ahead of the polls, barring further inclusions until after voting.

Banerjee, addressing rallies in North 24 Parganas district on Thursday, alleged the deletions targeted Trinamool Congress strongholds to disenfranchise voters. "You deleted names of over 90 lakh people to grab...