A massive electoral crisis is unfolding in West Bengal just weeks before the state goes to the polls. The Election Commission published a second supplementary voter list late Friday, March 27, 2026. It dropped 12 lakh names.
This mass deletion stems from a Supreme Court-mandated Special Intensive Revision of the state’s electoral rolls. The aggressive administrative overhaul was launched ahead of the fiercely contested Assembly elections scheduled for April 23 and April 29, 2026. Now, millions of citizens are trapped in administrative limbo. Their voting status is stamped simply as “under adjudication.”
Out of an initial 60.06 lakh voters flagged with discrepancies, approximately 37 lakh cases had been adjudicated by 705 judicial officers as of late Friday. Early data indicates a severe rejection rate of 35% to 40% among the reviewed cases.
The ruling Trinamool Congress immediately escalated the issue. The party filed a formal appeal to the Calcutta High Court. Pointing out that 11 of its own political nominees are currently under the revision cloud, the party argued that the massive scale of deletions amounts to a “murder of democracy.” They claim the narrow 15-day tribunal appeal window severely disrupts the state’s electoral arithmetic.
On the ground, ordinary citizens face bizarre and severe administrative blunders. Many submitted mandatory verification documents, including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and court affidavits, during multiple hearings. Despite this, their names were excluded from both the preliminary final list published on February 28 and the first supplementary list released on March 23.
Jagatjyoti, a 40-year-old state government official, discovered his deceased father’s Nepali surname was incorrectly translated into a Bengali expletive. He submitted the required enumeration form earlier this year.
“The booth-level officer told me there would be a hearing and I should submit all relevant documents,” Jagatjyoti said. “Later, when I went to collect the notice, the same BLO said it was a mistake I had nothing to do with and that he would fix it. He was even laughing about the whole fiasco.”
He noted that his name was still missing after the March 23 list was published.
Others face similar bureaucratic walls. Sariful, 56, legally changed his surname from Mondal to Haque in 2002. He works in a leather goods unit in the Calcutta Leather Complex.
“I changed my surname because others in my family did the same. I followed all due procedures, including filing an affidavit in court,” Sariful said. He attended two separate hearings this year to submit his documents. “I have been voting since I was 18. I don’t understand why my name would not be there. It feels like I committed a crime by changing my surname.”
Md Wasim Malick, 54, earns ₹450 daily. His name was mistakenly listed as Md Ashim in 2002. He corrected it in 2016. He was called twice for hearings and submitted his PAN, Aadhaar, and bank documents. His status remains under adjudication.
“I don’t know whether my name is there or not,” Malick said. “I earn ₹450 daily, which will get deducted if I keep missing work chasing the BLO.”