India removes 90 lakh voter names from West Bengal election rolls

India's Election Commission deleted 90.66 lakh (9.066 million) voter names from West Bengal's electoral rolls during a Special Intensive Revision exercise ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, with 58.2 lakh removed in December 2025 and additional removals continuing through February 2026. The scale of deletions—affecting roughly 9% of the state's registered voters—raises concerns about voter suppression and electoral integrity in one of India's most politically contested states. This matters to Americans because it reflects broader democratic backsliding concerns in the world's largest democracy and demonstrates how electoral manipulation tactics operate in a major global democracy. West Bengal elections are historically pivotal in Indian politics, with significant implications for national power dynamics.