The Election Commission will publish an integrated draft of the West Bengal voter roll on November 12, bringing together existing electors and names approved for inclusion through judicial officers and appellate tribunals in a single list available online and offline.
A senior Election Commission official told the Times of India that the draft roll will combine the final electoral roll published on February 28 with 18 supplementary lists of electors whose names were subsequently approved by judicial officers. It will also include three other supplementary lists and any further names approved by appellate tribunals before the draft is prepared.
The integrated list will show each elector’s name alongside the relevant assembly constituency and part number. Electoral registration officers will re-serialise the entries, remove names that have been deleted and group family members living in the same house together, the official said.
The process is part of the Election Commission’s annual Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls. Unlike a collection of separate supplements, the integrated draft is intended to provide one consolidated record of the electors included at that stage of the revision process.
Names deleted from the rolls will not appear in the draft list. The Commission official said the document would provide a clear picture of names approved by tribunals for inclusion, an issue that has acquired significance amid appeals related to the revision of electoral records.
An affidavit filed by the Election Commission before the Supreme Court last month stated that 38,20,683 appeals had been filed against orders relating to the Special Intensive Revision of rolls. Of these, 1,02,231 appeals had been disposed of, according to the affidavit. It did not provide a separate break-up of appeals filed by electors whose names were deleted and those challenging the inclusion of names in the roll.
The availability of the draft in both online and offline formats will place the next stage of checking before electors, political representatives and election officials. The published details, including the assembly constituency and part number, are expected to help residents identify their entries and follow the applicable process if corrections or objections are required.
The Election Commission’s stated next step is the publication of the integrated draft voter roll on November 12, after which the consolidated list will show the names retained, added through approved supplementary processes or included following tribunal decisions.
