The Supreme Court has directed an appellate tribunal to expeditiously decide an appeal filed by a 75-year-old advocate challenging the deletion of his name from the West Bengal voters' list following a Special Intensive Revision exercise. The court noted the petitioner appeared to be a bona fide resident and requested a decision within two months.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of deleting over 9 million names from voter lists in an attempt to win the upcoming Assembly elections. She vowed to fight the alleged manipulation legally and politically.
Despite numerous appeals, only two names have been restored to the West Bengal electoral rolls after 2.7 million deletions, raising concerns about voter access and the functionality of proposed tribunals.
The Supreme Court has directed the establishment of independent appellate tribunals, led by former high court judges, to address appeals related to voter list exclusions in West Bengal, while also cautioning against undermining judicial officers involved in the process.
Police in West Bengal have arrested 17 people, including an Indian Secular Front (ISF) candidate, in connection with the alleged confinement of judicial officials during a protest over voter list deletions in Malda district.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged voters to cast their ballots in the upcoming assembly polls as a form of 'revenge' for the deletion of names from electoral rolls, alleging foul play and urging vigilance during the election process.
Tension flared outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Kolkata following a confrontation between Trinamool Congress supporters and police over alleged voter list manipulation, with accusations of illegal voter enrolment from other states.
According to data released by the ECI, the revised electoral roll has 2,69,53,644 voters, compared to 2,78,50,855 before the Special Intensive Revision began in October last year.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah accuses the West Bengal government of openly facilitating infiltration, defends the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists, and asserts BJP's prospects in upcoming elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation, alleging manipulation of voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. She also questioned the abrupt resignation of Governor C V Ananda Bose and accused the BJP of anti-women policies and spreading misinformation.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections were marred by widespread complaints of voter list discrepancies, missing names, and confusion, impacting voters and election staff alike.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged voters to 'take revenge' for the deletion of names from electoral rolls, alleging the BJP is behind the changes. She also addressed concerns about EVM tampering and the deployment of officers to other states.
The Election Commission reports a significant reduction in West Bengal's electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision, with nearly 9.1 million voters deleted.
The Election Commission of India has published the final voters list for Assam after a Special Revision, deleting over 2.43 lakh names from the draft roll. The final roll comprises nearly 2.49 crore voters, a decrease of 0.97 per cent from the draft roll.
'I am alive, I have not died. Look, I am standing and speaking,' says Imarti Devi who is listed as deceased and whose name has been deleted from the voter's list. M I Khan reports from Dharaichak, a village in Bihar where 200 voters have been removed from the voter's list.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar expressed satisfaction over the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, stating that the exercise has 'purified' the voters' list after 22 years. He made the announcement during a press conference in Patna.
'If this is true, the Election Commission should come forward with data and officially confirm it.'
A delegation of Opposition leaders in Maharashtra, including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and Raj Thackeray, met with the state's chief electoral officer to raise concerns about alleged irregularities in the poll process, particularly regarding the voters' list, ahead of local body elections.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused the TMC of conspiring to include infiltrators in electoral rolls, claiming the party objects to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) while those rightfully removed from the rolls did not protest.
This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said.
Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct a re-election in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, citing reports of widespread voters' list manipulation. The allegations follow BJP's victory in the constituency, with Suresh Gopi winning by a significant margin.
The Election Commission is yet to disclose the number of voters whose names have been included or deleted following the SIR adjudication process in poll-bound West Bengal.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
The State Election Commission will adopt the voters' list of the assembly elections for civic polls, the Bombay high court was told on Tuesday, while hearing a plea by an 18-year-old woman who claimed her application to enrol as a voter after she turned 18 in April 2025 was not accepted.
The West Bengal government has filed FIRs against five state government employees for alleged lapses in electoral roll revisions, following an Election Commission ultimatum. The action comes after the EC directed the state to initiate criminal cases against the accused for adding fictitious names to voter lists.
The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh was published after a special intensive revision exercise, with 12.55 crore voters retained out of 15.44 crore listed earlier. Around 2.89 crore voters were excluded due to deaths, migration, or multiple registrations.
'The Election Commission is conducting the National Register of Citizens in Bihar through the backdoor.'
Criticising the Election Commission ahead of the local body elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday claimed that 9.6 million fake voters have been added, as per the information received.
As many as 90,000 electors in Goa have either been found absent, shifted, deceased or possessing duplicate voter cards in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, a senior official said on Sunday.
A fresh political row has erupted in West Bengal after a person allegedly involved in Bangladesh's August 2024 student protests was found listed as a voter in Kakdwip, triggering sharp Bharatiya Janata Party-Trinamool Congress exchanges over alleged illegal infiltration and manipulation of the voter list in the state.
Opposition parties in India, led by the Congress, have demanded a detailed discussion in Parliament on alleged discrepancies in voter lists. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, highlighting concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. The opposition alleges large-scale duplication of EPIC numbers, which they claim undermines voter integrity and the electoral process. They have also pointed out instances of inflated voter lists in states like Maharashtra and Haryana. The Election Commission has acknowledged discrepancies but maintains that these are not widespread and that corrective measures are being taken. The opposition, however, insists on a comprehensive discussion on the matter to ensure the integrity of elections in India.
The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has completed one year, leading to the deletion of nearly six crore voters across 19 states and Union territories. This exercise, which began in Bihar, has faced opposition criticism but was upheld by the Supreme Court. The purification drive has significant implications, including linking voter data to social security benefits in some states.
Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer has ordered a thorough verification of nearly 1 million voter deletions following complaints of wrongful removals, particularly concerning deceased voters and those who may have shifted residences.
Sex workers in Sonagachi, Asia's largest red-light district, are pleading for relief from stringent voter ID rules that they say are impossible to meet, potentially leading to exclusion from the voters' list.
A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a detailed constituency-wise disclosure of disenfranchisement caused by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The NCERT's Class 9 Social Science textbook now includes the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, explaining its purpose to ensure accurate voter lists. The textbook also commends the Election Commission of India (ECI) for conducting impartial polls despite challenges, highlighting the scale and autonomy of India's electoral process.
Two BJP candidates and three others have been booked for allegedly distributing liquor to influence voters and attacking those who objected during the Garhshankar Municipal Council elections in Punjab.
The EC also underlined that for electors whose enumeration forms have not returned, the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would identify a probable cause, such as absent, shifted, dead and duplicate entry based on an inquiry from the nearby electors and would note the same.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
The Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a petition concerning the deletion of names from voter lists in West Bengal, directing the petitioners to seek redressal through established appellate tribunals.