A group of electoral officers in West Bengal has raised a red flag over the conduct of a crucial voter list revision exercise, alleging they are receiving instructions from the Election Commission via unofficial WhatsApp messages. This has led to significant confusion and procedural difficulties on the ground.
WhatsApp Messages and Contradictory Orders
In a formal letter dated January 6, 2026, the Assistant Programme Officer Welfare Association West Bengal, whose members serve as Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), wrote to the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The letter expresses deep concern that instructions for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are being communicated through WhatsApp messages, virtual meetings, and verbal directions instead of formal, written orders.
The AEROs highlighted that this informal channel has resulted in contradictory instructions on acceptable documents for voter eligibility. While the official EC guidelines from October 27 list 13 categories of valid documents, they claim to have received WhatsApp messages overriding this list. For instance, they were told to reject family registers issued by local authorities and school certificates, even though these are admissible under the official rules.
‘Logical Discrepancy’ Cases Create ‘Impossible Workload’
A major point of contention is the handling of ‘logical discrepancy’ cases. These are voters who were previously mapped in the last SIR but are now being flagged in the CEO portal as discrepancies, requiring fresh hearings. The AEROs state there is no clear written procedure for this process.
Each officer has been assigned an additional 3,000 to 4,000 such cases, on top of existing ‘no mapping’ cases. With the entire month of January dedicated to ‘no mapping’ hearings and a final deadline of February 7, 2025, they argue it leaves no time for proper inquiry for the discrepancy cases.
The letter warns that this compressed timeline violates Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which mandates a reasonable opportunity for a hearing before deletion. They fear this could lead to large-scale litigation against deletion orders.
Political Echoes and Demands for Clarity
The officers' complaint finds a political echo in remarks made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee just two days prior. On January 5 at the Gangasagar Mela, she had alleged, "The Election Commission is being run on WhatsApp," and accused it of removing people's names from voter lists unlawfully.
The core demand from the AEROs is for the Election Commission of India to issue clear, written, and comprehensive guidelines. They seek an end to the reliance on informal communications that lack statutory backing and have created widespread uncertainty, risking the integrity of the voter list revision process ahead of crucial elections.
