Kolkata, April 18 The decline in the number of female voters in West Bengal in the current voters’ list from that in the draft voters’ list is marginally higher than a similar decline in the number of male voters following the completion of the special intensive revision exercise in the state.
The number of other/transgender voters in the state in the current voters’ list compared to the draft voters’ list also showed a marginal decline in actual numbers, although the percentage decline in this category is much higher.
As per statistics provided by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, in the draft voters’ list which was published in December last year, the number of female voters was 34,615,837, which has declined to 33,314,628 in the current list, thus witnessing a decline of 1,301,209 in actual numbers and a percentage decline of 3.8.
On the other hand, as per the same statistics provided by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, in the draft voters’ list, the number of male voters was 36,199,391, which has declined to 34,935,123, thus witnessing a decline of 1,264,268 in actual numbers and a percentage decline of 3.5.
In the draft voters’ list, the number of other/transgender voters stood at 1,402, which declined to 1,257 in the current voters’ list, resulting in a 145-voter decline and a 10.3 percentage-point decline.
The total decline across all three categories in the current voters’ list relative to the draft voters’ list was 2,565,692, or a 3.6 per cent decline.
As per the statistics of the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, 2026 marks the first instance of a decline in the number of voters in the state, following a steep and continuous increase since 2011, the year which marked the conclusion of the 34-year Left Front government and the onset of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress governance in the state.
Poll analysts feel that the perpetually upward graph in voters’ numbers from 2011 to 2024 indicates that while the new and first-time voters kept on getting added to the list, there was no parallel elimination of the “deceased”, “shifted”, “missing”, and “duplicate” voters from the list.
--IANS
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