West Bengal census to begin on August 1: CM Suvendu

ByTech Word News

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. File. | Photo credit: ANI

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Friday (May 29, 2026) that the West Bengal Census 2027 will be held between August 1 and the end of February 2028 next year.

The Chief Minister emphasized that the exercise had nothing to do with politics and urged the people of the state to participate in the process. He emphasized that the census is a constitutional obligation.

“On May 16, 2025, the Government of India sent a letter to the previous government of West Bengal asking them to start the census. I will not politicize the matter but I will say that it is unfortunate that the previous government did not respond,” Mr Adhikari said.

The Chief Minister said that while the rest of the country has moved far ahead in conducting the census, West Bengal has to catch up. Mr. Adhikari also referred to alleged demographic changes in parts of the state and attributed it to cross-border infiltration.

Unfenced border

“We have a 600-kilometer unfenced border with Bangladesh. As the previous state government did not hand over the land to the BSF, fencing could not be done, leading to infiltration and changes in the demographic makeup of parts of West Bengal,” he said.

Mr. Adhikari said once the census data is available, it will be possible to study the demographic changes. He mentioned the flight of Bangladeshi citizens from the country.

He said that accurate census data is essential for governance and planning, adding that the approval of the census was among the first decisions taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party government on May 11, 2026.

Rashmi Kamal, a 2006 batch IAS officer, is the Director of Census, West Bengal. Mr. Adhikari said the data will be collected from August 1 to August 15 and it will be the first digital census where there is scope for self-enumeration. The chief minister on Friday released two toll-free helpline numbers for census feedback and complaints.

Published – 29 May 2026 16:24 IST