Overview
- Officials and local reporting describe a sustained surge since November 4, with 150–200 people processed daily and tallies such as about 1,200 returns over six days and more than 1,600 in recent days.
- Returnees interviewed at posts like Hakimpur say they obtained Aadhaar, ration cards or voter IDs through middlemen and are leaving to avoid detection during door-to-door checks.
- BSF and police cite verification backlogs, two-to-three-day delays, limited holding capacity and the need to coordinate transfers with the Border Guard Bangladesh.
- A widely shared video framed as proof of a mass exodus was debunked by fact-checkers, who confirmed it showed an October 30 Shyama Puja immersion unrelated to the current verification drive.
- Parties clash over the implications for the 2026 polls, with the BJP welcoming roll cleaning, the TMC challenging aspects of the process in court, and analysts highlighting potential shifts in border constituencies such as North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad and Malda.