West Bengal Voter List Controversy — A fresh political storm has erupted in West Bengal as Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] state secretary Md Salim has publicly lambasted the Election Commission of India (ECI) for its alleged negligence after the name of a deceased doctor from R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital was found to still exist on the state’s official voter list.
The revelation has renewed debate over the integrity of electoral rolls, transparency in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, and the broader state of electoral accountability in India.
West Bengal Voter List Controversy Unfolds
On October 30, 2025, Salim led a CPI(M) delegation to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Kolkata, demanding immediate corrective measures and a public explanation from the ECI.
He pointed out that the name of a woman doctor — the same young physician whose rape and murder at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in August 2024 had triggered nationwide outrage — was still visible on the official voter list of her constituency more than a year after her tragic death.
“The entire country was shaken by her brutal death. There were protests, candle marches, and demands for justice. Yet, even after a full year, her name remains on the voters’ list,” said Salim, addressing the media during the protest.
This discovery, Salim argued, reflects the ECI’s “inefficiency, apathy, and failure to modernise its data-verification system,” adding that “if such errors persist in high-profile cases, what can we expect for ordinary citizens?”
Election Commission’s Explanation
An official from the Election Commission of India responded, clarifying that names of deceased voters are removed only upon formal application or complaint from family members or concerned citizens. Once such a request is made, a Booth-Level Officer (BLO) verifies the claim, and the name is then deleted.
The official stated, “We need to check whether any family member or third-party complaint was submitted after the doctor’s death seeking deletion of her name. Without such an application, the process cannot begin.”
However, Salim countered this as “unacceptable in today’s digital India.” He argued that with digitised death records, Aadhaar-linked databases, and electronic governance systems, the ECI can — and must — automatically verify and remove names of the deceased without waiting for manual complaints.
“This is not the 1980s. All government departments are digitally connected. The Election Commission cannot hide behind outdated procedures,” Salim declared.
Systemic Weakness in Voter Roll Management
The ECI’s current rulebook indeed makes voter deletion a complaint-based process. However, experts say this method often causes discrepancies, especially in urban areas where deaths, relocations, and data mismatches occur frequently.
In this case, the continued presence of a deceased voter’s name has exposed the flaws in the system:
- Lack of integration between the death-registration database and the electoral roll.
- Over-reliance on manual verification by BLOs.
- Delays in inter-departmental communication between municipal bodies and election offices.
According to a senior election official (on condition of anonymity), West Bengal has thousands of pending cases where deceased voters’ names are yet to be removed, mainly due to “lack of communication between civic and election offices.”
Md Salim’s Allegations Against ECI and BJP
Salim accused both the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to manipulate the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. He alleged that the BJP was using the pretext of “voter list clean-up” to selectively target certain sections of voters.
“The BJP is trying to use SIR to remove genuine voters — minorities, the poor, and marginalised communities — while the Election Commission is acting like a silent spectator,” he said.
He also announced that CPI(M) and Left allies would launch “Voter Adhikar Raksha Kendras” (Voter Rights Protection Centres) across the state to help citizens check and protect their voter registrations.
The Left’s Memorandum to the Election Commission
The CPI(M) delegation submitted a detailed memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer outlining four key demands:
- Immediate removal of deceased and duplicate voters from the rolls.
- Guarantee that no genuine or eligible voter is wrongly deleted.
- Greater transparency and public access to the SIR process.
- Awareness campaigns to educate citizens on verifying and correcting their voter details.
Veteran Left leader Biman Bose, who led the demonstration along with Salim, said:
“People are being misled and frightened by the SIR process. The Commission must ensure that no citizen’s name is deleted unfairly.”
Broader Context: Why This Matters
The presence of deceased or duplicate names on voter lists is not a new problem in India. Multiple reports by the Election Commission of India and civil-society watchdogs have flagged this recurring issue across several states.
A clean electoral roll is essential for free and fair elections. When errors persist, it leads to:
- Inflated voter counts, affecting poll booth planning and turnout percentages.
- Possibility of impersonation or bogus voting.
- Reduced faith in democratic institutions, particularly among first-time voters.
In a state like West Bengal — where political rivalry is intense and margins of victory are often narrow — even minor roll inaccuracies can cause significant political implications.
Expert Analysis: Technology vs Execution
Electoral experts suggest that the ECI should integrate data from municipal death registers, civil registration systems, and Aadhaar databases for proactive removal of deceased voters.
Professor Rajat Roy, a political analyst, notes:
“Digitisation alone doesn’t solve the problem. What’s missing is the administrative will to connect systems and share data efficiently.”
India’s Chief Electoral Roll Management System (ERMS) already supports such cross-verification, but implementation at the state level remains inconsistent.
R.G. Kar Case as a Symbol of Neglect
The doctor’s murder at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital was one of the most disturbing crimes in Bengal in recent years. It triggered massive protests across Kolkata, involving students, health workers, and women’s rights organisations.
That her name still appears on the electoral list — despite national attention and official confirmation of her death — symbolises, for many, the institutional failure to update even the most obvious data.
“If the system cannot delete the name of a woman whose death was on every front page, how will it handle the countless unreported deaths across Bengal’s villages?” asked a CPI(M) spokesperson.
The Road Ahead: What the ECI Must Do
As public pressure mounts, the Election Commission of India is expected to:
- Review all pending deceased-voter entries in Kolkata and other districts.
- Link death-registration data with the electoral database using the National Population Register (NPR).
- Enhance citizen outreach through online portals where voters can check, update, or delete names with proper authentication.
- Issue public reports on the progress of the SIR in Bengal for transparency.
Without these steps, political parties warn that voter confidence could plummet before the 2026 Bengal Assembly elections.
Conclusion: A Test of Democratic Integrity
The controversy surrounding the RG Kar doctor’s voter-list entry has become more than a clerical error — it’s a test of institutional responsiveness, digital governance, and public trust.
Md Salim’s accusations against the ECI have reignited public discourse on whether India’s election system is evolving fast enough to match its digital ambitions.
For now, the ECI faces a simple but symbolic challenge:
To prove that it can uphold accuracy and fairness — the twin pillars of democracy — not just during elections, but in the maintenance of the very list that defines who gets to participate in them.
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