West Bengal is set for one of its biggest electoral roll clean-ups ever, with nearly 59 lakh voter names expected to be struck off during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being conducted by the Election Commission ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, according to sources familiar with the process.

Officials involved in the enumeration exercise said that after a late-night compilation on Thursday, the total number of voters marked for removal reached 58,08,002, indicating large-scale discrepancies in the existing rolls.

A breakdown of the data shows that 24.18 lakh voters on the list are confirmed deceased. Another 12.01 lakh names belong to individuals who could not be traced despite multiple home visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Under election rules, if a BLO is unable to locate a person after at least three attempts, the individual is categorised as “missing.”

The revision drive also uncovered 19.93 lakh voters who have shifted residences, resulting in their names appearing in multiple voter lists. Their duplicate entries will be removed, with only the correct location being retained.

In addition, the Commission has identified 1,37,575 fraudulent entries, while another 57,509 names have been placed in an ‘other’ category — both groups scheduled for exclusion from the updated draft list.

The Election Commission will publish West Bengal’s draft voter list on December 16, after which citizens can file objections or point out any errors. Hearings will follow, and corrections will be made before the final electoral roll is issued on February 14, 2026.

The statewide SIR began on November 4 and is aimed at eliminating illegal or invalid entries, a move that has already stirred sharp political reactions.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Election Commission and the BJP of attempting to manipulate the voter base, warning that she would “shake their foundation” if Bengal is targeted. The BJP, in turn, has accused her of provoking unrest and obstructing a legitimate verification drive.