West Bengal CEO says eligible deleted voters can apply through Form 6 to restore name in rolls
Kolkata — The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday announced that any eligible voter whose name was deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls may seek re-inclusion by submitting Form 6. The office also published online the list of voters whose names were classified as ASDD—Absentee, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate—during the SIR process, enabling residents to verify their status.
What the CEO has announced
In a statement, the CEO’s office said the list of ASDD voters compiled during SIR 2026 is available at “ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in/asdsir” as well as on the websites of the respective District Electoral Officers. “Any person in this list may submit Form 6 online or through the Booth Level Officers [BLOs] for inclusion of his/her name in the electoral roll,” the CEO said.
The CEO’s office also urged all eligible residents aged 18 and above to register and enroll their names in the electoral roll. Officials clarified that both online submissions and in-person applications via BLOs are acceptable pathways to restoration or new enrollment.
Numbers behind the deletions
According to the first draft roll published in December 2025, West Bengal recorded more than 58 lakh electors marked as ASDD. Of these, approximately 24.16 lakh were identified as deceased, 32.65 lakh as shifted or absent, and 1.38 lakh as duplicate entries across multiple locations.
Following adjudication, more than 27 lakh names were ultimately deleted from the final voter roll in West Bengal on the grounds of ineligibility. The scale of removals triggered controversy, with allegations of wrongful deletions surfacing across districts.
Special drive and appellate review
Amid mounting criticism of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and pressure over alleged wrongful deletions, the Commission recently announced a special drive to restore names left out during the SIR exercise. However, the initial contours of that drive did not include West Bengal.
After the controversy deepened, the Supreme Court set up 19 appellate tribunals to re-examine the cases tied to the 27 lakh deletions. Each tribunal is headed by a former judge of the Calcutta High Court. These bodies are tasked with reassessing the deletions to determine whether voters were wrongly removed and should be reinstated.
As the appellate process proceeds, a major point of uncertainty remains: whether those among the 27 lakh who have already appealed to the tribunals are also eligible to submit Form 6 for re-inclusion. The CEO’s statement did not clarify that question.
Voter registration camps and process clarifications
Additional CEO Arindam Niyogi told The Hindu that special camps would be held to bring back left-out voters and to add new eligible electors to the rolls. He addressed concerns circulating about documentation requirements, terming them misinformation. “This is complete misinformation that people need to be mapped with the 2002 voter list when they are filling up Form 6. No new voter has to be mapped,” Mr. Niyogi said. The CEO’s notice likewise encouraged anyone above 18 years of age to register.
Some of these special voter registration camps have already begun operating in parts of Hooghly district, including Chanditala, Tarakeshwar, and Chandannagar. Officials indicated more such camps will follow to expand access and expedite processing for those affected.
Criticism and official pushback
The move to allow Form 6 applications for those deleted during SIR—and the parallel appellate mechanism—has drawn both legal and political reactions. Former West Bengal CEO Jawhar Sircar questioned the creation of the appellate tribunals, arguing that Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act assigns such responsibilities to the Chief Electoral Officer and the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). “Why are high ranking former judges being asked to look at appeals? This is the job of the CEO and the Electoral Registration Officer [ERO] according to Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act. These tribunals are a blunder and they are the reason why many may not be able to access Form 6 in West Bengal, because these people are stuck in between,” Mr. Sircar told The Hindu. He further said the CEO’s notice was a “clear admission of guilt” that “wrongful” deletions took place during the SIR, contrary to initial official positions.
All India Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose criticized the ECI’s decision to reopen voter registrations after West Bengal’s elections, alleging that a large number of eligible voters were removed before polling and accusing the Commission of partisan conduct. In response, the CEO’s office publicly countered her claims, calling them “misleading.”
Reiterating its stance, the CEO’s office posted that it remains committed to working under the supervision and control of the Election Commission of India in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in matters relating to the updating of electoral rolls.
What remains unresolved
While the CEO has opened the door for those listed as ASDD to file Form 6 and has launched special enrollment camps, the path forward for the roughly 27 lakh voters who have already appealed to the Supreme Court–appointed tribunals is still unclear. Whether they, too, may simultaneously seek restoration through Form 6 has not been addressed, leaving appellants in a potential administrative limbo until specific guidance is issued.
The road ahead
With special registration camps underway and the tribunals reviewing contested deletions, the state’s electoral machinery is racing to strike a balance between roll integrity and voter inclusion. The outcome of the tribunal reviews, alongside clarity on the use of Form 6 by appellants, will be pivotal in determining how many of the deleted voters ultimately return to the rolls—and in restoring public confidence in the revision process.
