Amidst concerns around voter discrepancies, EC publishes ‘revised’ electoral roll for Bengal’s bypoll-bound Kaliganj -OxBig News Network

Trinamool Congress MPs Kirti Azad, Ritabrata Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, Mahua Moitra and other party MPs stage a protest over the alleged duplicate voter ID card issue, at the Parliament premises in New Delhi, in April.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The final electoral list of the Kaliganj Assembly Constituency in West Bengal’s Nadia district features a correction and net decrease of over 2,000 voters following a special summary revision by the Electoral Registration Officer, ahead of byelections in the constituency.

A special summary revision was conducted by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) after an integrated draft electoral roll was published on April 8. The period between April 8 and April 24 was designated for filing claims and objections.

The final electoral list featuring a total of 2,52,670 electors was published on May 5. It recorded a net decrease of 2,208 electors from the initial list of 2,54,878 voters.

Also read | Escalating ‘fake voters’ charge, Trinamool Ministers hit the streets to scrutinize electoral rolls

This purportedly follows the deletion of names, recording changes in electors’ residence, inclusion of new and overseas voters, correction of particulars, replacement of Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), and marking of persons with disabilities during the special summary revision.

The correction of over 2,000 names assumes significance in the wake of the State ruling party’s concerns around duplicate EPIC numbers earlier this year, and allegations of several voters in West Bengal sharing the same EPIC number with electors from other States.

At a party meeting in February this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had claimed that the electoral rolls in West Bengal feature a large number of “fake voters” from other States like Gujarat and Haryana, and accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of enabling such discrepancies.

She had also instructed Trinamool Congress leaders and workers to inspect the electoral rolls in the State and flag discrepancies. A Trinamool core committee was tasked with verifying the State’s electoral rolls.

“After house-to-house field survey by 309 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), draft Electoral Rolls were published on 08/04/2025 by Electoral Registration Officer for inviting claims and objections. All Political Parties together appointed 660 number of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for verifying the draft electoral rolls. After addressing all claims and objections, the final electoral rolls were published by ERO on 05/05/2025 and a copy was handed to all political parties,” the CEO said in a statement on May 7, after the publication of the final electoral list of the Kaliganj Assembly constituency.

Two byelections in West Bengal are due — in the Kaliganj Assembly constituency and the Basirhat Parliamentary constituency — following the deaths of Trinamool MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed in February this year and Trinamool MP Haji Sheikh Nurul Islam in September last year, respectively.