West Bengal poll office says eligible deleted voters can apply through Form 6 to restore name in rolls

The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) announced on October 6, 2026, that eligible voters who were deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) can apply to have their names reinstated in the electoral rolls using Form 6. The CEO's office provided a list of ASDD (Absentee, Shifted, Dead, Deleted) voters on their website, ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in/asdsir, as well as on the District Electoral Officers' websites.

The first draft roll released in December 2025 revealed that West Bengal had approximately 58 lakh ASDD voters, with 24.16 lakh electors identified as deceased, 32.65 lakh as shifted and absent, and 1.38 lakh with duplicate enrolments. Following public outrage over the Election Commission of India's (ECI) alleged wrongful deletions, the commission pledged to investigate and restore the names left out during the SIR process.

However, only after the final voter roll was published in West Bengal were over 27 lakh people deleted. The Supreme Court subsequently established 19 appellate tribunals, headed by former Calcutta High Court judges, to reevaluate the 27 lakh cases. Despite the tribunals' formation, it remains unclear whether those who appealed to restore their names will also be eligible to complete Form 6 for reinstatement.

Former CEO of West Bengal, Jawhar Sircar, criticized the tribunals, stating that appointing high-ranking former judges to review appeals is inappropriate and may hinder the reinstatement process.