Delay West Bengal polls until all voters are registered, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has become the centre of a political debate. The Election Commission of India (ECI) uses this process to verify and update electoral rolls by removing duplicate, fake, or ineligible names, while also adding new eligible voters. During this exercise, approximately 63–64 lakh names have been deleted from West Bengal’s final electoral roll.
At present, around 60,06,675 voters remain under adjudication in the state, with their names still under verification. Reports suggest that nearly 55% of these names have not yet been restored after scrutiny. The situation is further complicated as the Supreme Court continues to review voter-related claims, delaying final decisions.
Despite these pending issues, the West Bengal Assembly elections for 2026 are scheduled to be held on April 23th and 29th. In response, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has called for the postponement of the elections.
Chowdhury has also argued that many eligible citizens are still unable to find their names on the voter list. While verification is ongoing for several voters, others have reportedly been left out. He warned that conducting elections under such circumstances could deprive a large number of citizens of their voting rights.
He has urged the Election Commission of India to take immediate action and ensure that all eligible voters are included in the electoral rolls before the polls are conducted. Emphasising the importance of fairness, he stated that a credible election process must be based on a complete and accurate voter list.