KOLKATA: The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, formally published the draft voters’ list today, marking a significant step in the state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The draft roll covers a massive electorate of 7,66,37,529 voters, setting the stage for the upcoming final publication of the electoral database in early 2026.
This extensive revision process is critical for maintaining the integrity of the democratic process, ensuring that the electoral database remains current and error-free. The publication of the draft list allows citizens and political parties to scrutinize the data and file claims or objections before the final rolls are locked in. According to election officials, the focus of this revision has been on the digitization of records and the removal of demographic discrepancies.
Major Clean-up of Electoral Rolls
In one of the most significant purification drives in recent years, election authorities have deleted more than 58 lakh names from the draft roll. Officials confirmed that these deletions were necessary to remove entries categorized as “absent, shifted, dead, and duplicate” (ASDD). This rigorous filtering ensures that the voter list reflects the actual residing population and prevents potential electoral malpractices associated with ghost voters.
Furthermore, the digitization drive has seen substantial progress. Out of the approximately 7.08 crore voters targeted for specific enumeration form digitization, authorities have successfully digitized 92.4 percent of the forms, streamlining the data management process for the Election Commission.
Hearings for Unmapped Voters
A critical component of this year’s revision involves addressing technical discrepancies. Approximately 31,38,374 voters have been identified as “unmapped” regarding previous voter list databases. To resolve these anomalies, the Election Commission has commenced a hearing process starting today.
These hearings are designed to verify the credentials of these specific voters and map them correctly within the digitized system. The hearing process will continue until February 7, 2026. Voters falling into this category are expected to be called for verification to ensure their rightful place on the final roll.
How to Check and Apply
Citizens whose names are missing from the draft roll or those seeking corrections have been advised to take immediate action. The Election Commission has enabled multiple channels for voters to verify their status and submit applications:
- Online Portals: The draft list is accessible via the official Election Commission portal at voters.eci.gov.in and the CEO West Bengal website.
- Mobile Apps: Services are available through the ECINET mobile application.
- Offline Centers: Citizens can visit the offices of the Block Development Officer (BDO), Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), or District Magistrate (DM) to view the list.
New voters or those missing from the list can file Form 6 to include their names. These forms can be submitted physically to the concerned Booth Level Officer (BLO) or processed digitally through the commission’s web and mobile platforms.
Following the completion of hearings and the disposal of all claims and objections, the final electoral rolls for West Bengal are scheduled to be published on February 14, 2026.
Press Note – West Bengal SIR: Publication of Draft Electoral Roll – Key Findings of Enumeration Phase.#SIR #PressNote@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI @PIBKolkata @AIRKolkata @DDBanglaNews pic.twitter.com/G6Ix4wyPIz
— CEO West Bengal (@CEOWestBengal) December 16, 2025





