2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 16, 2026 08:07 PM IST
The two-phase West Bengal Assembly elections, which concluded in April, saw the highest turnout in any Assembly and Lok Sabha election since Independence at 93.71%, with the second-highest at 93.61% recorded during the 2013 Tripura elections, according to data released by the Election Commission on Saturday.
After West Bengal, the top 10 highest turnouts have been witnessed in Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Puducherry. Four states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu along with the UT of Puducherry went to polls with the counting held on May 4. Except in Assam and Puducherry, the EC carried out Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that saw lakhs of electors being removed.
The electoral rolls of Bengal were trimmed by over 90 lakh following the revision, with 27.16 lakh being deleted in an adjudication process ordered by the Supreme Court. These electors were unable to cast their votes but can still get back on the rolls after appealing against their deletions while lakhs of appeals are pending before the tribunals.
The EC data showed that the absolute numbers of voters too had increased in the latest round of Assembly polls. Compared to 2021, the number of voters increased from 83.75 lakh to 86.69 lakh in Puducherry, from 4.63 crore to 4.93 crore in Tamil Nadu, from 6.04 crore to 6.38 crore in West Bengal and from 2.09 crore to 2.16 crore in Kerala.
The poll body’s decision to conduct the SIR has been challenged in the Supreme Court, which has reserved its judgment.
