With the announcement of the West Bengal assembly election dates, a massive political and social controversy has erupted over the status of over 6 million ‘pending’ voters. The question of whether this vast number of citizens will be able to exercise their franchise now hinges on the upcoming Supreme Court directive.

According to the Election Commission, 6,006,675 voter applications remain under scrutiny following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process that began on October 27. This figure is unprecedented compared to other states. While 1.6 million applications have been processed, nearly 40% have been deemed invalid.

The Supreme Court has ordered the formation of a special tribunal, overseen by the Calcutta High Court and comprised of retired judges, to hear appeals from those whose applications were rejected. However, the operational timeline of this tribunal remains unclear. With the last dates for nomination filing set for April 6 and April 9, time is running out to verify the remaining 4.4 million pending applications. All eyes are now on the next Supreme Court hearing on March 25, which will determine the voting rights of millions in West Bengal.