West Bengal's Electoral Roll Update: Awaiting Tribunal Decisions

West Bengal is set to publish its second supplementary electoral roll list by March 27-28, addressing the 36 lakh pending voter entries. Despite compliance with the Supreme Court's instructions, the operationalisation of voter exclusion tribunals remains undecided, causing anxiety among stakeholders awaiting clarity on the appeal mechanisms.

West Bengal is gearing up to release its second supplementary list of electoral rolls by the end of March, said a senior official from the Election Commission. This follows the disposal of around 36 lakh voter entries from the pending list.

However, unresolved issues from the first list's publication persist, including technical difficulties and incomplete data from several booths. The revision process, mandatory under the Supreme Court's directives, allows excluded voters to appeal but tribunals for such cases are still not operationalized.

The state government's proposal for tribunal locations, along with Calcutta High Court's suggestion, remains under consideration. As a result, stakeholders express concern over delays in the tribunal setup, while the electoral roll's eligible voter count stands reduced post SIR due to various deletions.