Kolkata, Feb 14 (NationPress) The hearing segment concerning claims and objections to the draft voters' list in West Bengal wrapped up on Saturday evening, revealing that 4.98 lakh additional voters have been identified as eligible for removal from the final voters' list.

These 4.98 lakh voters are those who did not attend the hearing sessions despite numerous notifications sent to them and are therefore deemed appropriate for exclusion.

Previously, the number of voters who had not participated in the hearings was reported to be 6.25 lakh until Friday evening.

On the final day of hearings, however, more than 1,00,000 voters attended the sessions, decreasing the count to 4.98 lakh as of Saturday evening,” shared a source from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal.

Earlier, during the enumeration phase, over 58 lakh voters' names—comprising deceased, duplicate, and relocated voters—were found ineligible and subsequently removed from the draft voters' list published in December.

The newly identified 4.98 lakh names during this hearing phase will now be added to that previously recorded number.

However, the total count of confirmed deletions will only be clarified upon the release of the final voters' list on February 28.

“The evaluation of identity documents submitted by voters present at the hearings will persist until February 21. During this evaluation, names of voters who provided invalid or unverified identity documents may also face exclusion. The overall situation will be clearer post the release of the final voters' list on February 28,” the CEO source indicated.

Notably, the highest number of voters who missed the hearings was recorded in the North 24 Parganas district, with about 1.38 lakh absentees, followed by South 24 Parganas with around 46,000 and Kolkata (Dakshin) electoral district with roughly 22,000. The least number of absentees was noted in Kalimpong district, tallying just 440.

Following the publication of the final voters' list on February 28, a full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) will visit West Bengal for two days to assess the post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) status, after which the schedule for the important Assembly elections expected later this year will likely be announced.

CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal has previously advised the ECI to conduct the Assembly elections in a single phase. Nevertheless, the ultimate decision lies with the Commission.

In previous elections, polling in West Bengal occurred over multiple phases, typically spanning from seven to eight phases.

The last instance of Assembly elections in West Bengal being held in a single phase was in 2001.