The Election Commission of India predicts that close to 90 lakh voters’ names will be deleted by the end of the ongoing judicial adjudication process in West Bengal. In the final voters’ list released on February 28, around 63.67 lakh names were already removed due to reasons like “deceased,” “shifted,” “missing,” and “duplicate” voters. The judicial adjudication process has been deleting names at a daily rate of 40 to 45 percent, leading to the estimated final deletion figure.
The estimated deletion figure is solely based on the average daily deletion rate during the adjudication process. Voters whose names are deleted will have the chance to appeal to any of the 19 Appellate Tribunals set up for this purpose. The ongoing adjudication process is yet to be completed for approximately 16 lakh voters, with efforts to finish it within the current week.
Over 700 judicial officers, including 100 each from Odisha and Jharkhand, are actively engaged in the adjudication process, working tirelessly to expedite the completion. The Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, covering 152 and 142 seats respectively, with results announced on May 4. The nomination process has commenced following the ECI’s election notification on Monday.
