Election Commission Reports Massive Voter Roll Reduction Amid Revision Exercise

The startling figures come at the end of a particularly intensive revision of the electoral rolls. At the end of the second phase, nine states and three union territories, including West Bengal, have seen a drop of nearly 10 per cent. According to the Election Commission, the total number of voters in the 12 states and union territories before the exercise began was 50.99 million. After the revision, the number has come down to 45.81 million. That is, the names of over 51.8 million voters have been deleted. The final electoral rolls of 11 states and union territories, including West Bengal, have already been published. The entire exercise was completed after the release of the final rolls in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The Election Commission sources say that one of the reasons for the large number of names being deleted is the deletion of 66.88 million dead voters. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of deletions. According to a section of experts, while updating electoral rolls is an important part of the democratic process, the deletion of such a large number of names naturally raises questions. Political circles in West Bengal, however, maintain a high degree of transparency in the process.