# EC says 93% of Bengal voter appeals succeed, seeks more tribunals 2026-09-21T06:37:00+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets The Election Commission told the Supreme Court that 93% of the 1.26 lakh appeals decided so far from West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise have resulted in voters being restored to the rolls. The data, filed in response to TMC MP Derek O'Brien's petition challenging the deletions, shows 1.13 lakh people won their appeals while 8,649 lost. The Commission said the claim that deletions altered the assembly election outcome was a flawed yardstick, noting that in 21 constituencies won by the TMC itself, deletions exceeded victory margins. With 37.05 lakh appeals still pending, the EC proposed increasing the number of tribunals from 19 to 42, one per parliamentary constituency, to clear the backlog. At the current pace of about 25,238 cases a month, the Commission said it would take 146 months, over 12 years, to dispose of all appeals. The Supreme Court had earlier directed the EC to expedite the process. The TMC called the SIR a targeted assault to help the BJP, while the BJP distanced itself from the exercise, saying it had not conducted the revision. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The TMC frames the SIR as a partisan weapon, pointing to the 93% appeal success rate as proof of mass wrongful deletion. The EC and BJP frame it as a neutral administrative process, with the EC stressing that deletions included ineligible categories like duplicate and dead voters and that many constituencies it says were affected were actually won by the TMC. The backlog figure, 37 lakh appeals pending for over a decade at current speed, is the concrete test. The Supreme Court's decision on additional tribunals, expected in the next hearing, will determine whether those voters get a vote before the municipal polls due in December. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Focuses on backlog duration and EC's request for more tribunals - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Focuses on backlog duration and EC's request for more tribunals - indiatoday.in (neutral report) Straight factual report on EC affidavit and tribunal pace - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Presents both TMC and BJP reactions verbatim, no editorialising - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Presents both TMC and BJP reactions verbatim, no editorialising Tags: Derek O’Brien, Election Commission of India, Supreme Court, TMC, West Bengal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ec-says-bengal-voter-roll-backlog-may-take-12-years-to-clear/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ec-says-bengal-voter-roll-backlog-may-take-12-years-to-clear/#story-in-brief