The Election Commission has announced a voter-roll revision schedule for West Bengal and 16 other states and Union territories, with the final electoral roll set to be published on 4 January. The exercise will allow eligible citizens to seek inclusion, deletion or correction of details before the final list is released.
The draft voter list will be published on 12 November, according to the schedule announced by the Commission. Applications and objections relating to the inclusion, deletion or correction of names will be accepted until 11 December. The authorities have been instructed to dispose of these applications and objections by 28 December.
The revision will use 1 January of the coming year as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The Commission will also accept advance applications from people who will become eligible to vote on 1 April, 1 July or 1 October 2027. Their names may be added to the final electoral roll once they meet the eligibility requirements.
The schedule also sets deadlines for changes to polling-station arrangements. The rationalisation and reorganisation of polling stations must be completed by 2 November, before publication of the draft roll. The Commission has said that no polling station should have more than 1,200 voters and that officials must try to ensure that voters do not have to travel more than two kilometres to cast their ballots.
The instructions also call for members of the same household to be placed at the same polling station and, where possible, in the same section of the electoral roll. These directions link the revision of voter records with the physical organisation of polling infrastructure, including the location and capacity of polling stations.
The Commission has directed officials to exercise caution while removing duplicate names and the names of deceased voters or people who have permanently moved elsewhere. Before a name is deleted, officials must follow the prescribed verification process and ensure that the required hearing is conducted.
Except in cases involving death, the person whose name is proposed for deletion must also receive an individual notice, according to the instructions reported by Sangbad Pratidin. This requirement is intended to give affected voters an opportunity to respond before the final roll is prepared.
The process will therefore move through four key stages: polling-station reorganisation by 2 November, publication of the draft roll on 12 November, disposal of claims and objections by 28 December, and publication of the final voter list on 4 January. The Commission’s schedule places both voter access and safeguards against wrongful deletion within the same revision exercise.
