In 48 seats during West Bengal's 2026 elections, voter numbers fell below 2021 levels. These seats account for 28% of the total 27.16 lakh deletions from the electoral roll. The Special Intensive Revision may have influenced turnout.
West Bengal's 2026 elections stood out for two reasons: a new criterion of 'logical discrepancies' deleted 27.16 lakh names from the electoral roll, and a record turnout of 92.95% saw 31 lakh more votes than in 2021.
An analysis reveals 96 seats with notable patterns. In 48 seats, voter numbers were lower than in 2021; these account for 28% of total deletions. The BJP had won 15 of these in 2021.
Of the remaining 246 seats with higher voter numbers, 48 polled at least 20,000 more votes, accounting for 42% of additional votes but just 2.66 lakh deletions on average 5,548 per seat. The BJP had won 14 of these in 2021.
Deletions varied widely, from 74,775 in Samserganj to 71 in Manbazar. Despite over 90% turnout in both, Samserganj (96.04%) saw a net decline of 33,536 votes (17.8% drop over 2021), while Manbazar (91.73%) added 20,605 votes (9.6% rise).
