With the approach of assembly elections in West Bengal, concerns have increased among migrant laborers about their voting rights. Thousands of laborers working in cities like Delhi and Mumbai are running back to their villages as they fear that their names have been struck off from the voter list. In the new investigation report of the Election Commission, a large number of names have been removed or kept under investigation. All these workers have been given a chance to correct their information till April 19 so that they can cast their vote in the upcoming elections.
Voter list and important information related to elections
After the special revision process of the Election Commission (ECI), major changes have been seen in the voter list. The Commission has said that lakhs of names have been removed to correct and update the list. Key figures and dates related to this are given below:
Details Information Last date for voter list correction 19 April 2026 Total voters removed from the list Approximately 63.66 lakh Voters kept under investigation Approximately 60 lakh Election dates 23 and 29 April 2026 Counting of votes 4 May 2026
Workers are getting relief and difficulties on the way
This time the Election Commission has given a relief to the migrant labourers. If the name of a laborer is found suspicious in the list, then any member of his family can attend the hearing in his place. For this, it is not necessary for the laborer to be physically present there. However, the crowd of people returning home is so high that it has become very difficult to get tickets in trains. Bengal Swarna Shilpa Kalyan Sangh has informed that laborers coming from Mumbai and Delhi are facing severe transport shortage.
Tribunal formed for voter list correction
Those whose names have been removed from the list can lodge their complaints in the 19 appellate tribunals set up across the state. Officials estimate that the work of checking the voter list will be completed within this week. At present the total number of voters in Bengal has reduced from 7.66 crore to about 7.04 crore. Many research organizations have expressed concern that in this process, more names of migrant laborers and people from weaker sections have been deleted, hence people are reaching villages to confirm their identity as soon as possible.
