Massive Cleanup of Bengal's Voter List Ahead of Draft Publication
As the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll enters its final phase, the Election Commission of India has identified a staggering 15.5 lakh deceased electors in West Bengal. This figure represents 2.3% of the 6.6 crore enumeration forms that had been digitized until 12 noon on Friday, marking a critical step toward creating a more accurate voter database for the state.
Breaking Down the 'Uncollectable' Forms
Official data reveals that a total of 27.7 lakh forms have been categorized as 'uncollectable.' These are forms that could not be returned to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) with the applicants' signatures. Beyond the 15.5 lakh forms belonging to deceased individuals, the commission has identified:
- 8.9 lakh electors who have permanently shifted from their registered addresses.
- 58,164 duplicate voters enrolled in the system.
- 2.6 lakh electors who are currently untraceable.
An EC official clarified the process, stating, "'Uncollectable' forms mean the enumeration forms which are not returned to the BLOs with applicants' signatures. During collection, BLOs gathered these forms from family members and later uploaded them into the app under these four specific categories."
Exclusion from Draft List and Addressing Concerns
In a significant move, the Election Commission has confirmed that the names of voters associated with these 'uncollectable' forms will not be included in the draft SIR list. A senior official elaborated, "After the publication of the draft list, we will publish separate lists for deceased, duplicate, permanently shifted, and untraceable electors. These names will not be included in the draft roll."
Responding to questions about the seemingly low percentage of identified deceased voters, another official provided context, noting, "For the last 8-10 years, during the preparation of the electoral roll, we deleted 6-8 lakh deceased voters' names every year. So, this low percentage is not unusual." This indicates that the process of removing deceased individuals is a continuous annual effort.
Digitization Progress and Operational Hurdles
While 87.9% of enumeration forms across the state had been digitized by Friday afternoon, the city of Kolkata is lagging behind all other districts. Specific data shows that only 61% of forms have been digitized in Kolkata North, and 65% in Kolkata South.
The process has not been without its challenges. Several BLOs across West Bengal reported technical issues during digitization, where they received messages indicating that another BLO had already linked an applicant's data with a different individual in the BLO App.
A senior official from the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer addressed this, saying, "For these particular cases, an instruction has been sent that the BLO who found the problem should call the BLO who linked it. It may happen for a person who has two sons staying at different places. In that case, his name could be linked in both places. If a BLO links it intentionally, he/she will face action."
To oversee the final leg of this massive exercise, two senior EC officials will reach Kolkata on Monday and will work under the supervision of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, until the SIR process is completed.
