The Muslim-dominated districts of Murshidabad and Malda in West Bengal have recorded the highest number of voters whose documents are still pending scrutiny, according to the final electoral rolls published by the Election Commission after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.
Data released by the Election Commission shows that a total of 60.06 lakh electors across the state have been marked as “under adjudication,” meaning their documents are yet to be verified by judicial officers.
Murshidabad tops the list with 11.01 lakh such voters, followed by Malda with 8.28 lakh. Both districts share a border with Bangladesh and have high Muslim populations — 66 per cent in Murshidabad and 51 per cent in Malda, according to the 2011 Census.
Other border districts also feature prominently among the top five. North 24 Parganas has 5.91 lakh voters under adjudication, South 24 Parganas has 5.22 lakh, and Uttar Dinajpur has 4.80 lakh. These districts too have sizeable minority populations and lie along the India–Bangladesh border.
Beyond the top five, significant numbers of pending cases have been reported from Purba Bardhaman (3.65 lakh), Howrah (2.89 lakh), Nadia (2.67 lakh) and Birbhum (2.02 lakh). In contrast, Kalimpong (6,790) and Jhargram (6,682) have the lowest number of voters awaiting adjudication.
Election Commission officials said electors marked “under adjudication” have been retained in the rolls to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded while verification continues. The adjudication process, carried out by judicial officers, will go on even after the publication of the final rolls, with supplementary lists to be issued as required.
“Any correction or deletion will be made only after due inquiry,” an official said.
Following the SIR exercise, West Bengal’s total electorate has shrunk by 8.30 per cent, from 7.66 crore voters earlier to just over 7.04 crore in the final rolls.
(with inputs from PTI)
