New Delhi: The first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026 is scheduled to take place on April 23, 2026. Ahead of that, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has released a supplementary list. According to the list, only 136 people passed the tribunal and got the right to vote in the first leg of the polls. Also, among the names examined by the tribunal, two voters were excluded from the list.
The case of 27 lakh names
Notably, the ECI, on February 28, had published the final list of SIR in Bengal. There were 60 lakh names under adjudication, and judicial officers disposed of those names. Voters whose names were under adjudication but were not included in the voters’ list as per the judges’ orders appealed to the tribunal. According to reports, around 35 lakh names had pending appeals before the appellate tribunals.
Out of them, more than 7 lakh appeals were against names being included in the rolls while around 27 lakh appeals were made by people whose names were deleted or excluded from the rolls. While the tribunal has cleared 136 names so far, the fate of the rest of the 27 lakh names hang in balance.
Earlier, the Supreme Court used its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and directed the ECI that that voters in West Bengal, who are cleared by appellate tribunals for inclusion in electoral rolls at least two days before the elections, will be entitled to vote in the elections. Notably, for the first phase, voters who are cleared by April 21 can vote in the election and those who are cleared by or on April 27 can vote in the second phase of the election, scheduled to take place on April 29.
BJP and TMC get into war of words
After the supplementary list was published in the early hours of Wednesday morning, TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar slammed the ECI and said, “The tribunal has disposed of the names of 136 people in three weeks. What happens when you throw water on a hot pan? What did the 27 lakh people who names have been omitted do wrong? There is no need for this ECI anymore as it has taken away the rights of the people.”
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rahul Sinha said, “Around 27 lakh names have been left out due to lack of evidence. Now, the names of those who are able to provide information about themselves are being included in the list. The TMC thinks that the names of 27 lakh applicants will remain in the list. Then why were they left out? Judicial officers are investigating everything.”