The list of draft voters of West Bengal under Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 was released on Tuesday, and it is a great step in the process of electoral roll revision in the state. Election authorities have reported that the exercise has exhausted more than 7.66 crore voters in the first phase, with massive digitisation and verification being carried out to sanitize the rolls before the final publication in February of 2026.
Over 7.66 Crore Voters Covered in First Phase
The officials indicated that 7,66,37,529 voters were reached in the first phase of the SIR process in West Bengal. Out of these, 7,08,16,616 enumeration forms are already digitised, which corresponds to a 92.4 percent rate of digitisation. The election officials termed the development a major milestone in efforts to increase the accuracy, transparency, and accessibility of electoral data in the state.
SIR exercise is meant to make the electoral rolls current and by deleting old records or wrong records that are not accurate for the present day.
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More Than 58 Lakh Names Deleted After Verification
In the revision, more than 58 lakh names have been removed from the draft rolls. These were deleted following verification, whereby the voters were found to be absent, shifted, dead, or had duplicate entries. According to the officials, such deletions are a normal but essential aspect of the SIR process to ensure the integrity of the electoral roll.
Election officials emphasized that the deletions were made in accordance with recommended protocols and field-level validation to reduce errors.
Over 31 Lakh Voters to Face Hearings
The Voters’ list of 2002 could not be mapped with the 31,38,374 voters, which led to additional questioning by the Election Commission. Such voters will be summoned to hearings that started today and are expected to run until February 7, 2026.
The officials said that the hearing process will accord the affected persons a chance to provide documents or explain the discrepancies in the course of establishing if they will be included in the electoral roll.
How Voters Can Check and Apply for Inclusion
Voters whose names are not included in the draft list can request to be included by filling out Form 6. This can be done via the voters.eci.gov.in portal, ECINET mobile application, or by calling the respective Booth Level Officer (BLO).
The list of draft voters can be inspected by the people at various places, such as on the Election Commission website, the CEO West Bengal website, district websites, and BDO, SDO, DM, and local government offices. The government has encouraged citizens to ensure that they check their information during this period.
Final Electoral Roll to Be Published on February 14
Election officials said that the final electoral rolls of West Bengal would be published on February 14, 2026, and hearings, claims, and objections should be complete. This Commission claimed that the SIR process is being conducted in a transparent and participatory manner, with the maximum number of voters included and errors removed.
The revision exercise has been regarded as necessary ahead of future electoral processes, and government officials have pointed out that an accurate voters’ list forms the basis of free and fair elections.
