EC gets 5 lakh applications for new voters in state till Jan 4
Times of India | 9 January 2026
Kolkata: A little over 5 lakh applications were submitted to enrol names on the voters' list in the state till Jan 4, which included 3 lakh applications after the publication of the draft SIR list in Bengal on Dec 16. In 2024, the EC received 14.3 lakh applications for new voters, and the current trend of application submissions may close the total count well short of that figure, the EC officials apprehend.
Applications for new voter registration or removal of names from the voter list can be submitted up to Jan 15. Based on these applications, the final voter list will be published on Feb 14. "During the current SIR exercise, while slightly more than 58 lakh names of deceased, permanently shifted, absentee, and duplicate voters were removed from the state's draft voters' list, the number of Form 6 applications for new voter inclusion has not yet met expectations," a senior EC official said.
According to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's Office, approximately 2 lakh Form 6 applications were submitted to the commission before the publication of the draft SIR roll, and approximately 3 lakh more were submitted since then, up to Jan 4.
Besides online applications, the commission also directed all BLOs to be available at the polling booths to facilitate submission of forms for the inclusion of names on the voters' list, as well as claims and objections, and for shifting residence/correction of entries in the existing roll. The BLOs have been directed to sit at their respective polling stations for two hours on any three weekdays and for at least four hours on holidays till Jan 15.
However, several people reported that BLOs were not present at the booths despite the EC's instructions, which jeopardised the process of submission of forms. It is also alleged that some BLOs refused to distribute and receive Form 6 physically. Instead, they pressed the applicants to apply online.
According to EC data, the number of Form 6 applications declined in Bengal since the 2014 LS polls. Though this number increased in the following election years, the graph showed a downward trend in subsequent years. However, after the 2021 Assembly elections, the number of new-generation voters, that is, those who applied for inclusion on the voter list for the first time, decreased significantly.