SIR hearings conclude across Bengal; final electoral rolls to be released on February 28
Hearings for “logical discrepancy” cases under the SIR exercise have concluded across West Bengal, with the final electoral rolls set to be published on February 28. Around 58 lakh names were marked for omission during the enumeration drive.

The hearings for “logical discrepancy” cases under the SIR exercise concluded across West Bengal on Saturday, a senior Election Commission official said. The officer added that the final electoral rolls will now be published on February 28.
The hearings, which began on December 27, addressed omissions and spelling inconsistencies at camps set up in schools, club rooms, and administrative buildings across the state. Officials will scrutinise documents until February 21, and any pending data with Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) must be uploaded by Monday.
During the enumeration drive, around 58 lakh names—belonging to deceased, duplicate, or shifted voters—were marked for omission and excluded from the draft rolls released in December. While the original deadline for publishing the final rolls was February 14, it was later extended to February 28 by the EC. The official did not specify the final number of exclusions but noted that most of those flagged failed to attend the hearings despite receiving repeated notices.
Dharmendra Pradhan accuses WB CM Banerjee of using 'infiltrator votes'
Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of using the votes of infiltrators to retain power in the state. Responding to petitions filed by the Chief Minister in the Supreme Court alleging irregularities in the SIR exercise, Pradhan said the people of West Bengal would give Mamata Banerjee a “befitting reply” in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"Mamata Banerjee wants to return to power on the strength of infiltrators' votes. The people of Bengal will give her a befitting reply this time. The youth of Bengal, the women of Bengal, and the common people of Bengal will bring change in Bengal," Pradhan said.
Earlier, the Supreme Court heard a batch of petitions, including one filed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging irregularities in the SIR exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in West Bengal. Banerjee claimed that voters were placed on the “Logical Discrepancy” list over minor dialect-based spelling variations and that objection notices were issued without proper reasons.
Appearing in person before the Court, the Chief Minister further contended that the State was being selectively targeted by the ECI to delete voters’ names instead of facilitating their inclusion or correcting errors.