The Election Commission's Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal is approaching a critical juncture, with the pre-hearing phase nearly complete. While the mammoth task of digitising data for nearly 7.6 crore voters is almost finished, a significant number of citizens face crucial steps to retain their voting rights.
Unmapped Voters Must Attend Hearings
Officials have identified a substantial block of between 28 lakh and 30 lakh voters whose current data does not match with the baseline 2002 electoral roll. These 'unmapped' voters will, in all probability, have to personally attend hearings conducted by poll officials if they wish to remain on the list.
Each of these voters will receive a formal notice to appear for in-person hearings, which are scheduled to be held between December 16 and February 7 next year. To successfully prove their identity and residence, they must produce one of the 13 specific documents approved by the Election Commission for use in Bengal. This process is the final hurdle before the publication of the definitive electoral rolls on February 14.
Massive Deletion of Unverifiable Names
In a parallel development, a separate and larger group of voters is set to be removed from the draft list. As of the latest data, a staggering 54.6 lakh voters have been categorised as 'uncollectible'. This category includes individuals who are untraceable, deceased, have shifted residence, or are registered as duplicate entries.
A senior EC official provided a breakdown, stating, "Around 23.7 lakh voters have died, 19 lakh have shifted, 10.1 lakh are untraceable, and 1.2 lakh are duplicate voters." These names will not feature in the draft SIR roll, which is due for publication on December 16. The EC's deadline to finalise this phase of the SIR process ends this Thursday.
Opportunity for Challenge and Re-enrolment
However, the process provides a recourse for those affected. Voters whose names are omitted can challenge the decision and file fresh enrolment applications using Form 6. Additionally, the Commission will publish a separate list containing approximately 39,000 voters who collected enumeration forms but failed to return them to their Booth Level Officers (BLOs). These names will also be excluded from the initial draft rolls.
The official emphasised that a little over 7% of the 99.4% digitised enumeration forms have fallen into the 'uncollectible' category. With the digitisation drive for the 7.6 crore voter base nearly 100% complete, the focus now shifts to these final verification and hearing stages, which will determine the final shape of Bengal's electoral landscape ahead of future polls.
