Bengal Phase 2 looms with over 12 lakh SIR appeals pending, only 1,468 voters cleared
With Phase 2 of Bengal polls a day away, over 12 lakh voter appeals remain pending before tribunals. Only 1,468 have been cleared and six rejected, leaving lakhs uncertain about their voting status as deadlines pass and queues grow outside appellate centres in Kolkata.
With just a day to go before the second phase of the Bengal polls, more than 12 lakh appeals remain pending before the Supreme Court-directed tribunals.
Only a fraction of cases involving voters whose names were struck off the rolls following the SIR and the subsequent adjudication process have been processed in the first phase.
Out of a total of 12.9 lakh appeals pending for the second phase, just 1,468 have been cleared, while six applications have been rejected. The voting fate of lakhs of other applicants remains uncertain in the upcoming phase.
Long queues have formed outside the Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation in South Kolkata’s Joka, where disenfranchised voters waited in the searing heat as time ran out.
Meanwhile, the 19 appellate tribunals housed inside the Joka building are moving at a snail’s pace.
They have cleared only 139 out of around 14 lakh appeals in the first phase, leaving the rest out of this election’s voter rolls.
With lakhs already having lost their voting rights in the first phase, the same fate awaits lakhs more in the second.
In this phase, more than 3.2 crore voters will decide the fate of 1,448 candidates. A total of 41,001 polling stations have been set up.
Lakhs of appeals pending at the last moment in an already fractured SIR process in Bengal have created a stir among the public. On April 24, a day after the first phase of polling, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court stating that 65 persons listed on election duty had lost their right to vote as their appeals were not cleared before the polling date.
Hearing the case, the Chief Justice of India directed the petitioners to present their arguments before the appellate tribunal.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that while they may not be able to cast their votes in this election, their “more valuable right to remain on the rolls shall be preserved.”
“Appropriate orders will be passed by the tribunal this election...yes, perhaps they can’t vote,” Justice Bagchi said.
Earlier, the Supreme Court decided against freezing the voter rolls by April 6 for the first phase and April 9 for the second. It ordered that voters whose pleas are accepted by the appellate tribunals before April 21 or 27 would be allowed to cast their votes in the first and second phases, respectively.
However, the top court made it clear that voters would not be allowed to vote in either phase merely because their appeals are pending before the tribunals.
Elections 2026 | West Bengal Election | West Bengal Election Constituencies | West Bengal Election Schedule
With just a day to go before the second phase of the Bengal polls, more than 12 lakh appeals remain pending before the Supreme Court-directed tribunals.
Only a fraction of cases involving voters whose names were struck off the rolls following the SIR and the subsequent adjudication process have been processed in the first phase.
Out of a total of 12.9 lakh appeals pending for the second phase, just 1,468 have been cleared, while six applications have been rejected. The voting fate of lakhs of other applicants remains uncertain in the upcoming phase.
Long queues have formed outside the Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation in South Kolkata’s Joka, where disenfranchised voters waited in the searing heat as time ran out.
Meanwhile, the 19 appellate tribunals housed inside the Joka building are moving at a snail’s pace.
They have cleared only 139 out of around 14 lakh appeals in the first phase, leaving the rest out of this election’s voter rolls.
With lakhs already having lost their voting rights in the first phase, the same fate awaits lakhs more in the second.
In this phase, more than 3.2 crore voters will decide the fate of 1,448 candidates. A total of 41,001 polling stations have been set up.
Lakhs of appeals pending at the last moment in an already fractured SIR process in Bengal have created a stir among the public. On April 24, a day after the first phase of polling, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court stating that 65 persons listed on election duty had lost their right to vote as their appeals were not cleared before the polling date.
Hearing the case, the Chief Justice of India directed the petitioners to present their arguments before the appellate tribunal.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that while they may not be able to cast their votes in this election, their “more valuable right to remain on the rolls shall be preserved.”
“Appropriate orders will be passed by the tribunal this election...yes, perhaps they can’t vote,” Justice Bagchi said.
Earlier, the Supreme Court decided against freezing the voter rolls by April 6 for the first phase and April 9 for the second. It ordered that voters whose pleas are accepted by the appellate tribunals before April 21 or 27 would be allowed to cast their votes in the first and second phases, respectively.
However, the top court made it clear that voters would not be allowed to vote in either phase merely because their appeals are pending before the tribunals.
Elections 2026 | West Bengal Election | West Bengal Election Constituencies | West Bengal Election Schedule
