Over 30 lakh deceased voters likely to be removed from West Bengal electoral rolls based on Aadhaar data

Officials of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that govern the Aadhaar database met with the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal Manoj Agarwal on Tuesday (November 11, 2025) and informed him of deaths of around 32-34 lakh citizens whose Aadhaar have likely been deactivated, sources at the CEO’s office said on Wednesday. 

High-ranking electoral officials further said that they have written to UIDAI asking to furnish data that can serve as a parameter in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s electoral rolls.

“The UIDAI officials are likely combing through their legacy data that has so far shown that over 30 lakh Aadhaar cards in the State were deactivated in recent years following deaths. Electoral Registration Officers will be given this data for hearings after the enumeration phase,” a high-ranking official at the CEO’s office said.

This assumes significance in light of the ongoing distribution of emuneration forms across 294 Assembly constituencies for West Bengal’s SIR. 

According to figures shared by the CEO’s office, the total number of electors in West Bengal as of October 28, 2025, stands at 7,66,37,529, with an average of around 950 voters or 200 to 300 families per polling station.

According to sources, 40 Assembly constituencies, like Siliguri, Kaliaganj, Kolkata Port, Alipurduar, Siuri etc have recorded less than 75% completion of distribution of enumeration forms. 

“Distribution of enumeration forms is likely to be completed in all constituencies by the end of this week. A high-level meeting will be conducted with all Electoral Registration Officers later tonight analysing any delays in completion,” sources said. As of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, 6.87 crores (89.67%) of enumeration forms had been distributed across the State. West Bengal is among 12 states and union territories where the second phase of SIR began after Bihar from November 4. Assembly elections to West Bengal are scheduled in 2026.

The political parties in the Opposition, particularly Bharatiya Janata Party has been demanding the removal of dead, duplicate and fake voters from the State’s voters’ lists since before SIR was announced in the State. The presence of names of deceased voters in the rolls helps the ruling party manipulate the electoral process the BJP leadership has alleged.