Bengal SIR nears conclusion; 6.25 lakh more names flagged for deletion

The hearing phase on claims and objections to West Bengal’s draft electoral roll draws to a close at midnight on Sunday, with officials confirming that 6.25 lakh additional names have already been identified for exclusion from the final voters’ list.

The scrutiny process, however, is far from over. Verification of documents submitted during the hearings will continue for another seven days, until 21 February, meaning the number of names deemed ineligible for inclusion could rise further before the final roll is published on 28 February. The publication date had earlier been set for 14 February but was subsequently extended.

During the earlier enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), more than 58 lakh names — including deceased voters, duplicates, and those who had shifted residence — were found suitable for deletion and were not included in the draft roll released in December last year.

Sources in the office of the West Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) said that a majority of the 6.25 lakh additional exclusions stem from voters who failed to appear at hearing sessions despite receiving repeated notices. These cases fall largely into two categories: “unmapped” voters and those with “logical discrepancies”.

“Unmapped” voters are individuals who could not establish a linkage with the 2002 voters’ list in the state, either through self-mapping or progeny mapping. “Logical discrepancy” cases refer to irregularities detected in family-tree data during the progeny mapping exercise, where inconsistencies raised questions over eligibility.

The final tally of deletions will only become clear once the definitive voters’ list is published on 28 February.

A day after the final roll is released, the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) is scheduled to visit West Bengal for a two-day review of the post-SIR scenario. Following the visit, the Commission is expected to announce polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections slated later this year.

West Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal has reportedly recommended a single-phase election this time, though the final decision rests with the ECI. In recent years, assembly elections in the state have been conducted in seven to eight phases. The last single-phase Assembly election in West Bengal was held in 2001.

With the SIR process entering its final stretch, political parties are closely watching the revision exercise, aware that the final electoral roll will shape the contours of the high-stakes Assembly battle ahead.

With IANS inputs