Kolkata Voters Face Long Queues at Courts for Electoral Roll Corrections
Thousands of Kolkata residents have been making frantic visits to local courts in recent days to file affidavits correcting discrepancies in their electoral registration forms. This mass movement comes after the Election Commission of India identified logical inconsistencies in the Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls forms submitted by voters across the city.
Daily Rush at Alipore Court for Affidavit Filings
At the Alipore court complex, approximately one thousand people have been visiting each day specifically to submit affidavits for electoral roll corrections, according to advocate Subhajit Samanta. The queues have been so extensive that they frequently spill out of the court building, creating chaotic scenes as voters wait for hours to complete their documentation.
"Voters who want to retain their names in the electoral rolls are filing affidavits even for minor spelling mistakes," explained Samanta. "They are panic-stricken due to what they perceive as illogical actions by the Election Commission."
Widespread Discrepancies Identified by Election Commission
The Election Commission has identified approximately 1.2 crore voters across the state in the logical discrepancies category. An official revealed that around 80 lakh people specifically had name mismatches that required correction through affidavits.
Many voters expressed frustration at what they consider unnecessary harassment. "I came all the way from Bhangar," said Asraf Ali Mollah, a visually challenged person who visited the Alipore court on Thursday. "I reached the court at 10 am and waited until 2 pm for the affidavit. My name had a minor mismatch with my father's - his spelling is Akram Mollah while mine is spelt as Molla. The Booth Level Officer asked me to file the affidavit."
Multiple-Day Ordeals for Voters
For many Kolkata residents, the correction process has become a multi-day ordeal. Draupadi Giri from Behala recounted her experience: "My father's name is Nando Nayek, but in my EPIC card it appears as Nandolal Nayek, so I had to file an affidavit. I went on Thursday and found a long queue. After waiting over an hour, I decided to return because my two-year-old son was with me."
"My lawyer advised me to come without my son the following day," she continued. "He assured me he would complete the formalities, but I still waited for two hours in the queue on Friday."
Root Causes of the Electoral Roll Confusion
A senior official suggested that many of these affidavits could have been avoided if Booth Level Officers had instructed voters to be more careful while filling out the forms initially. Additionally, some errors occurred during data entry processes.
The situation has been exacerbated by Bengal's interchangeable surname conventions. Common surname variations like:
- Mukherjee and Mukhopadhyay
- Banerjee and Bandyopadhyay
- Chatterjee and Chattopadhyay
- Ganguly and Gangopadhyay
have led to hearing notices from the Election Commission, forcing many residents to rush to courts with affidavits declaring that these variations represent the same individual.
"Even a senior bureaucrat whose surname was recorded as Roy Choudhury in the 2002 SIR wrote it as Roychoudhury in the enumeration form, requiring him to file an affidavit," an official pointed out, illustrating how even minor variations can create significant bureaucratic hurdles.
Systemic Issues in Electoral Registration Process
The current situation highlights systemic challenges in India's electoral registration system. While the Election Commission's scrutiny aims to maintain accurate voter lists, the implementation has created substantial inconvenience for ordinary citizens who must now navigate court procedures to correct what are often minor clerical errors.
The mass affidavit filings represent both administrative challenges for the court system and significant time and effort investments for Kolkata's voting population as election preparations intensify across West Bengal.
