Kolkata, March 31 – Based on the average daily deletion rates of voter names during the ongoing judicial review of voters classified under the “logical discrepancy” category, the Election Commission of India (ECI) estimates that the final deletion figure at the end of the process will be slightly less than 90 lakh.
An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, on Tuesday explained how the estimated final deletion figure was arrived at, pointing out that a total of 63,66,952 names had already been deleted from the final voter list, which was published on February 28, primarily under the categories of “deceased”, “shifted”, “missing”, and “duplicate” voters.
"The final list excludes 60,00,675 cases that were referred for judicial review. Now, regarding the judicial review process, it has been observed that the average daily deletion rate during the ongoing process has been between 40 and 45 percent of the cases that have been reviewed. Therefore, based on this average daily deletion rate, it is estimated that the final deletion figure will be around 90 lakh," the insider explained.
However, he added that this estimated figure is based solely on the average daily rate of name deletions in the judicial review process. Voters whose names will be deleted during the judicial review process will have the opportunity to approach any of the 19 appellate tribunals established for this purpose.
As of now, it is learned that, based on figures available until Monday night, the judicial review process is yet to be completed for around 16 lakh voters, and the Commission is confident that the process will be completed within the current week.
Currently, over 700 judicial officers, including 100 each from neighboring Odisha and Jharkhand, are involved in the review process, and they are working day and night to complete the process as soon as possible.
The two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held on April 23 and April 29. In the first phase, voting will be held in 152 Assembly constituencies, and in the second phase, 142 seats will go to the polls. The results will be declared on May 4.
The nomination phase has started with the ECI issuing the notification for the elections on Monday.