4.98 lakh more Bengal voters identified for deletion post-SIR hearings

Kolkata: Hearings on claims and objections to West Bengal's draft voters' list wrapped up Saturday evening, marking the end of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) phase. An additional 4.98 lakh names now qualify for deletion, voters who ignored repeated notices and skipped sessions.

This figure dropped from 6.25 lakh on Friday after over 1 lakh attended the final day, a Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) source said. North 24 Parganas topped absentees at 1.38 lakh, followed by South 24 Parganas (46,000) and Kolkata (Dakshin) (22,000); Kalimpong had the fewest at 440.

Earlier, the enumeration phase culled over 58 lakh ineligible entries—deceased, duplicates, and shifted voters—for the December draft. These latest cases will join that tally, though the final count awaits the February 28 list.

Scrutiny of attendees' documents runs until February 21; invalid submissions could lead to more deletions. A full ECI bench visits post-publication to assess SIR and likely announce Assembly poll dates.

CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal has urged single-phase polls—last done in 2001—versus recent seven-to-eight-phase events, but the Commission decides.

(Inputs from IANS)