Election Commission Clears Voter Disenfranchisement Claims in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal
December 1, 2025
The Election Commission (EC) told the Supreme Court that 95.65% of voters in Tamil Nadu and 99.77% in West Bengal have received pre-filled enumeration forms. This rejects opposition claims of big voter exclusion. The EC said it got back 58.7% of these forms and has digitized them.
The EC also rejected allegations that West Bengal had up to 30% of voters left out. So far, 70.14% of the forms have been completed and returned. These figures show claims of errors and mass disenfranchisement are "highly exaggerated," the EC said.
The commission explained it has the power under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to conduct special revisions of electoral rolls as it sees fit. It has done such intensive revisions many times before, including in Tamil Nadu in 2002 and 2005.
The EC pointed out big changes have happened over the last 20 years. These include urbanization, migration, and voters registering in more than one place, causing multiple entries in rolls. This made the EC decide to start a pan-India special revision, beginning with Bihar.
For the current process, 68,470 booth level officers have been appointed in Tamil Nadu. Political parties have deployed 2,38,853 booth level agents there.
This update aims to clear doubts over voter list accuracy ahead of upcoming elections.
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Tags:
Election commission
Tamil nadu
West bengal
Electoral rolls
Voter registration
Supreme court
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