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Politics
Millions of Voters Deleted from Rolls in Bihar and West Bengal, Leaving Them Disenfranchised
✍️ The Hindu
🗓 03 Oct 2026, 04:48 AM
👁 8
The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision has removed over 47 lakh names in Bihar and nearly 91 lakh in West Bengal, leaving voters unable to cast ballots in the 2025 and 2026 assembly polls.
Paragraph 1. The Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has removed a staggering number of names from the electoral rolls in two eastern states, leaving thousands of citizens unable to vote in the upcoming 2025 and 2026 assembly elections.
Paragraph 2. In Bihar, more than 47 lakh voters were deleted, while West Bengal saw nearly 91 lakh names struck off the rolls, according to figures released by the commission.
Paragraph 3. The deletions have forced affected voters to file repeated affidavits and travel to registration offices in an attempt to prove their citizenship and regain eligibility, a process that has been described as exhausting and uncertain.
Paragraph 4. Journalists Shrabana Chatterjee and Senjuti Sengupta met with several of those impacted, documenting the paperwork, the emotional toll, and the ongoing struggle to secure a place on the ballot.
Paragraph 2. In Bihar, more than 47 lakh voters were deleted, while West Bengal saw nearly 91 lakh names struck off the rolls, according to figures released by the commission.
Paragraph 3. The deletions have forced affected voters to file repeated affidavits and travel to registration offices in an attempt to prove their citizenship and regain eligibility, a process that has been described as exhausting and uncertain.
Paragraph 4. Journalists Shrabana Chatterjee and Senjuti Sengupta met with several of those impacted, documenting the paperwork, the emotional toll, and the ongoing struggle to secure a place on the ballot.