Special Intensive Revision rolls show far fewer ghost voters than alleged, with most deletions linked to death or migration
KOLKATA — A heated political row has broken out in West Bengal after the Election Commission released the draft electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, months ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The fresh data has put serious question marks on repeated claims by the Bharatiya Janata Party that the state is flooded with Rohingya and Bangladeshi voters.
According to the draft list, the number of fake or ghost voters stands at 183,328. This figure is sharply lower than the claim made by BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who had alleged that nearly 10 million illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi voters were present in the state and were shaping election outcomes.
The Election Commission carried out a month-long door-to-door verification exercise. Officials said voter names were removed mainly due to death, permanent migration, duplication and failure to submit enumeration forms. In total, over 5.8 million names were deleted from the rolls, though the EC’s own categorisation shows that only a small fraction fall under the “fake voter” label.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has seized on the figures to accuse the BJP of running a false campaign that targets minorities, especially Muslims, before crucial elections. TMC spokesperson Krishnanu Mitra said the data fully exposed what he described as a scare narrative.
“The draft list has made one thing clear. The story of 10 million Rohingya and Bangladeshi voters is not based on facts,” Mitra said. “If you look at the numbers, the overall deletion rate in the state is around four per cent. In nearly 80 per cent Muslim-majority constituencies, the deletion rate is just 0.6 per cent.”
Mitra also referred to official inputs to challenge the infiltration claim. “As per Border Security Force data, around 4,000 people returned to Bangladesh from the Hakimpur border. If that is the scale, where are these so-called millions coming from?” he asked.
He added that deletion rates were much higher in Matua-majority areas, touching around nine per cent, raising questions on why the BJP continues to single out Muslims in its campaign.
“The BJP keeps pointing fingers at Muslims. The figures show Muslim voters are not the issue here. This is pure misinformation,” Mitra said.
The TMC maintained that there are no Rohingya voters in West Bengal and said the repeated use of such claims only harms social harmony. Party leaders said the data proves that Muslims in Bengal are being unfairly targeted for political gain.
The BJP rejected the TMC’s charge and said the issue was far from over. Responding to the draft list, Adhikari avoided giving fresh figures and chose to wait for the final rolls.
“This is just the beginning. Breakfast has just begun. Lunch, tea and then dinner will follow,” Adhikari said. He added that his party would respond in detail after the final voter list is published on February 14, as scheduled by the Election Commission.
Election officials have stressed that the draft rolls are open for claims and objections and that the final list will reflect corrections after due process. As political parties trade charges, the data has shifted the debate, weakening sweeping claims of mass infiltration and placing the focus back on verified facts from the Election Commission.
