Urban Bengal sees biggest voter deletions in EC's SIR draft rolls

The Election Commission of India (EC) on December 16 released draft electoral rolls for West Bengal. It removed the names of about 5.8 million voters, 7.59 per cent of the state’s 76.6 million electors prior to the special intensive revision (SIR), on various grounds including death, migration and non-submission of enumeration forms, according to officials. 

The data revealed that 2.46 million voters, or 3.15 per cent, were identified as deceased, while 3.26 million were found to have shifted residence or were absent. Another 138,000 voters (0.18 per cent) were enrolled at multiple locations. 

The highest proportion of deletions was recorded