The Election Commission of India finalized the deletion of approximately 9.1 million voters from West Bengal's electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), sparking a fierce political row just days before the state assembly elections.

The SIR process reduced the state's voter count from over 76.6 million to about 67.7 million, a drop of nearly 12 percent. The commission reported 90.66 lakh deletions in total, with the highest numbers in Muslim-majority districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, and North 24 Parganas. An additional 2.67 million names were struck off the supplementary rolls after scrutiny.

ECI officials described the exercise as a routine cleanup to remove deceased individuals, duplicates, and those who had shifted residences. Voters were required to submit enumeration forms with documentary proof during the revision, which began late last year. Of nearly 6 million entries under adjudication, 3.2 million were verified and retained, while others were deleted for failing verification.

Opposition parties, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Left Front, condemned the deletions as targeted disenfranchisement of minorities, particularly Muslims who form about 27 percent of the population, along with poor women and migrant workers. They alleged the process favored the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the April 23 and 29 polls. "The ECI is manipulating the electoral rolls based on social and sectarian bias to help the BJP win," Banerjee stated.

CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby called it an "exclusionary exercise" disproportionately impacting marginalized communities. Protests erupted in Kolkata, with Left parties demonstrating outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office.

The BJP defended the revisions as essential to eliminate bogus voters, many of whom are allegedly illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Party leaders argued the cleanup ensures electoral integrity in border districts.

The Supreme Court has been monitoring the controversy. On April 6, it refused to stay the SIR but emphasized that deleted voters' rights cannot be denied indefinitely. A case on the process's legality is pending, and we have directives to resolve appeals quickly.

Affected voters have a limited window to file appeals, though many from economically vulnerable groups face challenges in producing documents. The controversy has intensified campaigning in 44 key seats where deletions exceed 2021 margins, potentially altering outcomes in close contests.

With polls set to begin in 10 days, the ECI has urged voters to check their status online and submit claims promptly. The final electoral rolls were published around April 7, leaving little time for corrections.