Kolkata, Oct 26: Opposition parties, civil rights groups and public intellectuals on Monday submitted a memorandum to West Bengal State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta urging that voters whose appeals against deletion from the electoral rolls are still pending should not be excluded from the upcoming municipal elections, eNewsroom reported.
Source: eNewsroom
The delegation demanded that elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) and other municipalities be held only after the Election Commission of India's special re-enrolment drive and the Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls, scheduled to conclude in January 2027, are completed, eNewsroom reported.
Source: eNewsroom
Citing figures disclosed by the ECI in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on September 16, 2026, the memorandum said around 1.2 lakh appeals against voter deletions are pending within the KMC jurisdiction and approximately 39,000 in the HMC area — nearly 1.6 lakh appeals across the two cities, eNewsroom reported.
Source: eNewsroom
The concern, the delegation said, is that voters removed from the rolls ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections in April 2026 could be excluded from the municipal elections as well, before their appeals are decided. It demanded that all voters whose Special Intensive Revision (SIR) deletion appeals remain pending before appellate tribunals be included in the rolls used for the municipal elections, eNewsroom reported.
Source: eNewsroom
The pendency is also before the Supreme Court: five voters deleted after the SIR have sought expeditious disposal of their appeals ahead of the Kolkata and Howrah municipal elections, with their plea putting the pending appeals in the two cities at nearly 1.7 lakh and noting that the municipal elections are due in late November, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law
During that hearing, the court was told that 93 per cent of the nearly one lakh appeals decided so far had restored the voters to the rolls, and the Chief Justice said the court was examining whether tribunals could prioritise appeals from constituencies where elections are due, Live Law reported.
Source: Live Law
The State Election Commissioner's office has agreed to meet a delegation of the memorandum's signatories at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, eNewsroom reported.
Source: eNewsroom