Citizenship – Bengal Matua Community Awaits Electoral Roll Outcome
Citizenship – Hours before the Election Commission of India is set to publish the revised electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), anxiety is running high among sections of the Matua community across several districts of West Bengal. Many fear that exclusion from the updated voter list could raise broader questions about their citizenship status.
Widespread Concerns Across Key Districts
Residents in North 24 Parganas, Nadia, East Bardhaman and Jalpaiguri districts have expressed apprehension that their names may not appear in the final list. A significant number of those worried belong to the Matua community, a group with a notable presence in these regions.
In the Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency of North 24 Parganas, several Matua voters met Rajya Sabha member Mamatabala Thakur to voice their concerns. Many of them had supported Santanu Thakur, the local BJP Member of Parliament and Union Minister of State for Shipping, during the 2024 general elections. They said that if their names were removed from the rolls, it could create uncertainty about their legal standing as citizens.
Hearing Process and Numbers Involved
According to officials in the office of the District Electoral Officer in North 24 Parganas, approximately two lakh voters were summoned for hearings under categories described as logical discrepancies and unmapped records. Of these, nearly 1.25 lakh are believed to be from the Matua community.
In the Bongaon parliamentary segment alone, around 65,000 voters attended hearings conducted as part of the revision exercise. Sources familiar with the process indicated that several Assembly segments under Bongaon may see a substantial number of deletions once the final rolls are released.
The publication of the revised list marks the end of a three-month-long process that has witnessed political exchanges, public demonstrations and court interventions.
Classification in the Final Rolls
The updated electoral rolls are expected to cover approximately 7.08 crore voters who were included in the draft list released on December 16. Each voter will be classified under one of three categories: deleted, under adjudication, or approved.
Officials said that over 58 lakh names were already removed from the draft during the clean-up exercise. These deletions involved individuals identified as absent, deceased, relocated or duplicated entries from the 2025 voter list, which initially contained around 7.66 crore names.
Voters categorized as deleted include those who did not attend scheduled hearings or failed to submit required documents. Decisions were taken after review by election authorities, including Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.
Large-Scale Verification Exercise
A total of 1.51 crore voters were called for hearings after discrepancies were identified in the draft list. Among them, about 32 lakh individuals fell into the unmapped category, meaning they could not link their records to the 2002 SIR database through self or family mapping. Another 1.19 crore received notices due to inconsistencies in their submitted forms.
Nearly 60 lakh voters will be placed under the under adjudication category. Following directions from the Supreme Court, judicial officers were assigned to review such cases where clarity was lacking regarding eligibility.
Meanwhile, around 5.57 crore voters who were not summoned for hearings are expected to feature in the approved category. This number may increase depending on how many of those called for hearings are cleared for inclusion.
How to Check Voter Status
The final electoral rolls will be accessible online through the official voter services portal and the ECINET mobile application. Individuals can verify their status by entering their EPIC number or registered name.
For those preferring offline access, printed copies of the rolls will be available at offices of Block Development Officers, Sub-Divisional Officers and District Election Officers across the state.
Political parties will also receive digital copies of the updated rolls.
As the state awaits the official release, uncertainty remains among sections of the Matua community who see the outcome not just as an administrative update, but as a matter closely tied to identity and belonging.