Official data from the Election Commission of India (ECI) has revealed that the five West Bengal assembly constituencies that experienced the highest number of voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections were all won by the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The figures come amidst sustained protests by Opposition parties and civil society groups alleging that the revision exercise was weaponized to alter the election outcome.
Border District Seats Retained by TMC
According to ECI statistics, the five constituencies with the most names struck off the electoral rolls—excluding Falta, where a repoll was ordered—are located in the border districts of Malda and Murshidabad: Sujapur, Raghunathganj, Samserganj, Ratua, and Suti.
Despite significant initial deletions, all five seats returned TMC candidates. For instance, Sujapur saw 1,50,410 names removed during the initial publishing stage on February 28, though 1,14,766 names were subsequently restored following verification before nomination deadlines closed.
Conversely, the five seats least affected by deletions—losing between 8,254 and 9,309 names each (representing roughly 3% to 4% of their rolls)—were all won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Record Voter Participation and Global Comparisons
The 2026 West Bengal Assembly election recorded a historic voter turnout of 93.71%, the highest state-level turnout in India since Independence, surpassing Tripura’s 2013 record of 93.61%.
Responding to criticism over the removal of 90.83 lakh names out of a total state voter base of 7.66 crore, poll officials cited global turnout benchmarks. Bengal’s 93.71% participation rate outpaced national election turnouts in democracies with compulsory voting, such as Australia, Belgium, and Singapore.
ECI Clarifies ASDD Voter Categories
Addressing claims by the Opposition INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that over 13 crore voters nationwide were disenfranchised during the three-phase national SIR exercise, the ECI clarified that 13.39 crore voters out of 95.40 crore reviewed were categorized under ASDD (“Absent, Permanently Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate”).
The poll body firmly rejected characterizations of blanket disenfranchisement, noting that eligible citizens retain full constitutional rights to apply for review and restoration on the electoral rolls.
