The Kolkata-based research organisation Sabar Institute also found that women accounted for 51% of voters in this category
NEW DELHI — Muslims constituted nearly 70% of the more than 27 lakh voters placed under adjudication during West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, according to an analysis by the Kolkata-based research organisation Sabar Institute.
The institute, in a report released on Tuesday, also found that women accounted for 51% of voters in this category.
The Sabar Institute, which focuses on addressing social disparities and promoting inclusive research, stated that most of these voters were flagged for alleged “logical discrepancies” during the revision process.
According to the Election Commission’s parameters for SIR, such discrepancies include mismatches in parents’ names, unusually small age gaps between parents and children, and cases where more than six children are linked to a single parent.
Voters placed under adjudication must appear for hearings and establish their eligibility before their names can be restored to the rolls.
The disproportionality is significant. Muslims make up about 27% of West Bengal’s population as per the 2011 Census. The institute’s constituency-level samples illustrate the gap:
In Chowringhee, for example, of 17,545 voters flagged under ‘logical discrepancy’, 12,579 were Muslims. While 35.9% of deletions on the ‘absent, shifted, dead/duplicate’ list were Muslims, they formed 71.7% of those flagged under logical discrepancy.
Similar patterns were found in Kolkata seats like Ballygunge, Bhabanipur, Kolkata Port and Metiabruz.
The Special Intensive Revision is a comprehensive door-to-door verification of electoral rolls. In West Bengal, it was last conducted in 2002.
The current exercise began on October 27, 2025, when the Election Commission announced SIR in nine states, including Bengal, and three Union Territories.
On December 16, 2025, the EC published draft electoral rolls for West Bengal, with names of 58 lakh electors deleted from the existing lists.
The final rolls were published on February 28, 2026. After four months of SIR, the state’s electorate fell to 7.04 crore, marking an 8.09% decline from 7.66 crore before the revision began.
The EC has said the objective of SIR is to ensure all eligible citizens are included while removing duplicate, deceased, shifted and foreign voters. Overall, approximately 91 lakh names were removed in Bengal since October 2025.
The exercise has been politically contentious. On January 19, 2026, the Supreme Court criticised the EC for the “stress and strain” caused to ordinary people, noting that 1.36 crore people — almost 20% of the population — had received notices to explain logical discrepancies.
Scale of Deletions and Appeals
According to the Sabar Institute’s compilation of EC data, the final rolls published in February initially excluded more than 61 lakh voters. The revision continued through supplementary lists and adjudication of nearly 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases. By April 6, around 91 lakh names had reportedly been removed, accounting for nearly 11.9% of Bengal’s pre-revision electorate.
Appeals Still Pending
The study said around 34 lakh appeals were pending before appellate tribunals ahead of the Assembly elections. Of these, about 27 lakh were filed by voters whose names were removed during the revision. Data available at the time showed tribunals had restored only 1,607 names.
The Election Commission has not yet issued an official response to the Sabar Institute’s conclusions on community-wise disproportionality.
