The Supreme Court’s decision to allow individuals whose appeals against exclusion from the voter list are allowed by appellate tribunals to vote in the West Bengal polls has offered fresh hope to lakhs of voters who were excluded from the State voter list during the adjudication process, that followed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

About 27 lakh electors from the list of 60 lakh voters whose right to vote was adjudicated by judicial officers were excluded from the electoral rolls, taking the total deletions in the State to over 90 lakhs. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee was the first to react and said that she was very happy about the developments.