Muslims accounted for around 70% of the more than 27 lakh voters placed under adjudication during West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the Assembly elections, according to an analysis by Kolkata-based research organisation Sabar Institute.
The institute said women accounted for 51% of the voters placed under adjudication.
According to the analysis, most of these voters were referred for adjudication after being flagged for alleged “logical discrepancies” during the electoral roll revision process.
Voters Flagged Over Alleged Discrepancies
The institute said the discrepancies included mismatches in parents’ names, unusually small age gaps between parents and children, and cases where the number of children linked to a parent exceeded six.
Under the adjudication process, the affected voters are required to establish their eligibility before their names can be restored to the electoral rolls.
Over 91 Lakh Names Removed During Revision
According to the analysis, the final electoral rolls published in February initially excluded more than 61 lakh voters. The revision process continued through supplementary lists and adjudication of nearly 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases.
By April 6, around 91 lakh names had reportedly been removed from the electoral rolls, accounting for nearly 11.9% of West Bengal’s electorate before the revision exercise began.
Appeals Still Pending
The study said around 34 lakh appeals were pending before appellate tribunals ahead of the Assembly elections.
Of these, approximately 27 lakh appeals were filed by voters whose names had been removed from the electoral rolls during the revision process.
According to the available data, the appellate tribunals had restored 1,607 names to the electoral rolls.
The findings are based on an analysis conducted by the Sabar Institute. The Election Commission has not issued any official response to the study’s conclusions.
