Bengal SIR: ECI releases breakdown of 91.46 lakh ‘logical discrepancy’ cases

In a meticulous exercise aimed at cleansing and verifying electoral records, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has unveiled a detailed breakdown of 91.46 lakh “logical discrepancy” cases identified during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.

These cases, spotted through the innovative “progeny-mapping” process, pertain to voters whose records reveal unusual or inconsistent family-tree data.

The journey began at the conclusion of the enumeration phase — the first of three stages in the SIR exercise — when the commission initially flagged 1.36 crore cases. After rigorous scrutiny and evaluation, the list has now been trimmed to 91.46 lakh, reflecting the precision and care with which the Commission is conducting this historic revision.

These “logical discrepancy” cases sit alongside 58.20 lakh “excluded voters” and 30 lakh “unmapped” voters — individuals unable to link themselves to the 2002 voters’ list through either self- or progeny-mapping. While hearings for unmapped voters are currently underway, the Commission has slated the logical discrepancy cases for the next stage of review.

Among the anomalies, the largest category is name mismatches with the 2002 voters’ list, accounting for 51 lakh cases — a reminder of the intricate challenges in reconciling decades-old records. Close behind, 24 lakh cases involve six or more voters linked to a single father. Further curiosities include 4.75 lakh voters whose age is just 15 years or less than that of their fathers, 8.41 lakh voters whose ages exceed their fathers’ by 50 years or more, and 3 lakh voters whose age differs from their grandfather by 40 years or less.

Amid this meticulous process, the Trinamool Congress has called for transparency, urging the commission to formally release the details rather than letting them trickle into media reports.

The draft voters’ list for West Bengal was published on 16 December 2025. The final list is scheduled for release on 4 February, after which the commission is expected to announce polling dates for the state’s high-stakes assembly elections — a process in which every corrected record and reconciled name carries immense significance for the democratic pulse of the region.

With IANS inputs