The Election Commission of India (ECI) has put West Bengal under its scanner after identifying an “abnormal” surge of nearly 66 per cent in the state’s voter population between 2002 and 2024, the highest increase among all major states of the country in the last 22 years.
The spike, which has been recorded since the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 2002, will be one of the major concerns for the Election Commission of India during the SIR scheduled to take place in West Bengal shortly, ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Senior officials in the poll panel indicated that the revision could significantly prune the electoral rolls, especially with a focus on deleting names of deceased and shifted voters.
“A logical growth in the number of voters should have been in the range of 48 to 50 per cent during this period. Bengal has recorded 65.8 per cent, which is much above the national trend. This abnormal growth will definitely attract the Commission’s attention,” a senior official in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said on condition of anonymity.
According to ECI’s comparative data of major states between 2002 and 2024, Bengal’s increase of 65.8 percent dwarfs that of states with far larger populations. Uttar Pradesh registered a 39.1 per cent increase, Madhya Pradesh 47.2 percent, Maharashtra 44.8 percent, Karnataka 28.7 percent, Tamil Nadu 18.8 percent, Bihar 50.3 percent crore, and Gujarat saw a 42.2 percent increase.
In absolute terms, Bengal had 4.58 crore voters in 2002 following the last SIR, which has now increased to 7.60 crore in 2024. Poll officials argued that such sharp growth is unlikely to be explained by demographic changes alone.
“The abnormal rise is primarily because booth-level officers (BLOs) failed to delete the names of the deceased and those who migrated. During the last intensive revision in 2002, over 28 lakh names were deleted. A similar exercise now will definitely cut down the rolls,” the official added.
The issue comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court hearing challenges to a similar SIR ordered in Bihar, where petitioners fear that nearly 3 crore people particularly from marginalised groups could lose voting rights. In Bengal too, the debate has already acquired sharp political tones.
The BJP has claimed that the spike indicates large-scale inclusion of “illegal infiltrators” from Bangladesh and demanded that the Commission act decisively.
“In the past few years, Assembly segments in border areas like Rajarhat-Gopalpur, Bongaon, Barasat and parts of Nadia have seen a 16 to 18 per cent jump in voters. We estimate that around one crore infiltrators could be identified if a proper SIR is conducted,” a state BJP functionary said on condition of anonymity.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the ruling Trinamool Congress, however, dismissed the BJP’s claims and suggested that the exercise was politically motivated.
At a recent press conference, Mamata described the Bihar SIR as “worse than an NRC update” and warned that Bengal could be the “actual target.” Within the administration, the ECI has already directed district election officers to ensure that BLOs who are state government employees are appointed from Group C and above, to ensure accountability.
A recent special summary revision in Nadia’s Kaliganj Assembly seat saw 8,000 deletions from the rolls without any controversy, which officials cite as proof that genuine voters will not be affected.
The CEO’s office official emphasised, “The Commission will not allow any laxity in cleaning up the rolls. We are committed that no genuine voter will be deleted in the process”.
As Bengal heads towards its next Assembly polls in 2026, the question of how the “abnormal” 66 per cent growth in its electorate will be addressed promises to be one of the most contentious issues in the state’s political landscape.
