Kolkata: Nearly 1.6 lakh appeals against voter deletions are pending in Kolkata and Howrah, and opposition parties, civil rights groups and public intellectuals now want the West Bengal State Election Commission to ensure that these voters are not excluded from the upcoming municipal elections.
In a memorandum submitted to State Election Commissioner Krishna Gupta on Monday, the delegation urged the commission to hold elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) and other municipalities only after the completion of the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) special re-enrolment drive and Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls, scheduled to conclude in January 2027.
The delegation has also demanded that all voters whose appeals against deletion under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) remain pending before appellate tribunals be included in the electoral rolls used for municipal elections.
The concern is straightforward: voters who were removed from the rolls ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections in April 2026 could face exclusion from the next round of elections before their appeals are resolved.
The office of the State Election Commissioner has agreed to meet a delegation of the memorandum’s signatories at 3 pm on Wednesday, October 28.
Kolkata and Howrah account for nearly 1.6 lakh pending appeals
The memorandum cites figures disclosed by the ECI in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on September 16, 2026. According to the document, around 1.2 lakh appeals against voter deletions are pending within the KMC jurisdiction, while approximately 39,000 remain pending in the HMC area.
Together, the two jurisdictions account for nearly 1.6 lakh appeals.
The signatories have also drawn attention to the outcomes of appeals already decided by the tribunals. According to the memorandum, ECI data show that all disposed cases in Kolkata district and 99% of those in Howrah were decided in favour of inclusion.
The figures have strengthened the delegation’s argument that municipal elections should not be held while so many voters are still awaiting decisions on their appeals.
If the elections take place before their cases are resolved, the memorandum warns, these voters could be denied their voting rights for a second time after the Assembly polls.
The delegation wants the SEC to include the names of all tribunal appellants in the electoral rolls for municipal elections. It has also called for the polls to be held only after the special re-enrolment drive and SSR are completed.
The memorandum does not establish that every pending appellant will ultimately be found eligible. Its demand is that the pending appeals should not result in exclusion from another election before the process of reviewing the deletions has run its course.
Why the delegation wants to wait until January 2027
The demand for postponement is linked to the ECI’s ongoing efforts to enrol eligible voters left out of the electoral rolls.
Following instructions from the ECI, the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal began a special drive on October 1, 2026, to enrol eligible citizens who were left out, including young and first-time voters. The ECI has also notified a Special Summary Revision, with January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date.
According to the schedule cited in the memorandum, the draft electoral roll is due to be published on November 12, 2026, and the final roll on January 4, 2027.
The delegation wants municipal elections to take place only after this process is completed, allowing eligible voters who were deleted during SIR to seek re-enrolment before the civic polls.
It has asked the SEC to wait until January 4, 2027, or until any later date the ECI may announce if the revision schedule is extended.
The demand covers the KMC, HMC and other municipal corporations and municipalities in the state.
Can the SEC revise the electoral rolls?
The memorandum also argues that the State Election Commission has the statutory authority to make changes to electoral rolls for municipal elections.
It cites Article 243ZA of the Constitution, which places the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for municipal elections under the State Election Commission. It also refers to Section 5 of the West Bengal State Election Commission Act, 1994.
The provision allows the electoral roll in force for West Bengal Assembly elections to be adopted for municipal elections, at the discretion of the State Election Commissioner and subject to the conditions the commissioner considers appropriate.
On this basis, the delegation has urged the SEC to use its statutory powers to include the names of voters whose appeals are pending before the SIR appellate tribunals.
The memorandum makes two specific requests: that municipal elections be held only after the special re-enrolment drive and SSR conclude, and that tribunal appellants be included in the electoral rolls for the civic polls.
Whether the commission accepts this interpretation of its powers, or agrees to the proposed timeline, remains to be seen.
A broad coalition brings the demand to the SEC
The memorandum has brought together representatives of several opposition parties, civil rights organisations and public initiatives.
Among the signatories are Subhankar Sarkar, president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee; Sougata Roy, Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP; Samik Lahiri of the Communist Party of India (Marxist); Partha Ghosh of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation; and Jawhar Sircar, former Rajya Sabha MP and former secretary to the Government of India.
Other signatories include Pijush Roy, Sangrami Gana Mancha representative Sangrami Gana, Samsur Mallick of Nagarik Sommonoy Mancha, human rights activist Sujato Bhadra, and Barnali Mukherjee of Bharat Jodo Abhiyan.
Their joint intervention brings different political and civil society groups together around a common concern: whether voters whose names were deleted during SIR will have a fair opportunity to participate in municipal elections.
