West Bengal Takes Steps to Purge Voter Rolls of 'Ghost' Entries

In West Bengal, 34 lakh Aadhaar holders have been classified as 'deceased,' sparking a revision of electoral rolls. UIDAI reported to the Election Commission that 13 lakh deceased individuals never had Aadhaar cards. The ongoing Special Intensive Revision aims to resolve these discrepancies to ensure accurate voter data.

In a recent move to clean up electoral rolls, West Bengal authorities have identified approximately 34 lakh Aadhaar card holders who have been recorded as 'deceased.' This revelation comes as part of the Unique Identification Authority of India's (UIDAI) latest communication with the Election Commission.

Furthermore, it was disclosed that around 13 lakh individuals in the state never had Aadhaar cards but have subsequently passed away. This data was shared during a meeting between UIDAI officials and West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, in light of an ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The meeting followed a directive from the Election Commission, urging state CEOs to collaborate with Aadhaar authorities in verifying voter data for discrepancies such as ghost, deceased, absentee voters, and duplicate names. The cleanup process is deemed crucial to ensuring the integrity of electoral rolls ahead of elections.

(With inputs from agencies.)