A staggering 91 lakh voters have been removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal after a Special Intensive Revision was carried out ahead of the Assembly elections, according to data cited by The Statesman from the Election Commission of India.
The deletions represent nearly 11.9% of the electorate, which stood at about 7.6 crore before the revision exercise began.
The extensive revision exercise came after judicial officers reviewed and decided on nearly 60 lakh claims and objections.
Of the 59.8 lakh cases finalised, more than 27 lakh voters were found "excludable" and subsequently removed, taking the total deletions to 90.8 lakh, an official was quoted as saying.
"The process of putting e-signatures of the judicial officers is yet to be completed for 22,163 cases," the official said. "Once that is completed, some more names might be added to the current deletion figure."
District-wise, the highest number of deletions during the adjudication phase were reported from Murshidabad with 4.5 lakh names struck off, followed by North 24 Parganas with 3.2 lakh and Malda with 2.3 lakh.
Voters whose names were removed still have the option to appeal, with 19 tribunals set up to hear such cases.
The Supreme Court of India had earlier directed the appointment of judicial officers of the rank of district judge or additional district judge to oversee the revision exercise, and later ordered the formation of appellate tribunals comprising former High Court judges to hear challenges against exclusions.
The revision exercise comes just ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, scheduled in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting on May 4.
The Election Commission had initially published the final rolls on February 28, showing more than 61 lakh exclusions, but the process continued with around 60 lakh "doubtful and pending" cases under adjudication.
West Bengal is among 12 states and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has been undertaken.
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