The Election Commission has launched a statewide campaign in West Bengal to help eligible residents whose names were left out of the voter list after the Special Intensive Revision process. Booth Level Officers will visit households, assist with Form 6 applications and organise neighbourhood camps for new inclusions.
The initiative follows the publication of the final electoral roll, after which several eligible citizens were reportedly found to be missing from the list or unable to register as new voters. The Election Commission has said the objective is to ensure that no eligible elector is excluded from the electoral rolls.
According to the information released by the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, all 24 district election officers in the state have begun a proactive campaign in line with instructions from the Election Commission of India. The announcement was shared by the state CEO’s office on October 12.
Under the campaign, Booth Level Officers will compare voter rolls from before and after the SIR exercise to identify eligible citizens who have not been included. Officials will visit the homes of people whose names were left out, examine their current details and help eligible applicants complete Form 6, the application used for inclusion in the electoral roll.
The Election Commission will also hold booth-level camps in neighbourhoods so that residents can submit applications and raise complaints closer to where they live. Citizens can contact the relevant Booth Level Officer, Assistant Electoral Registration Officer, Electoral Registration Officer or District Election Officer regarding problems with their names or applications.
The campaign is being implemented amid political tension over deletions and additions to the electoral rolls. The report said former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had raised allegations of irregularities in the deletion of names and the process of adding voters. The Election Commission’s outreach comes as political parties and citizens continue to focus on access to the electoral roll.
The state’s Additional Chief Electoral Officer said special steps were being taken to restore the names of eligible citizens to the rolls quickly. The Election Commission has also clarified that inclusion in the electoral roll is not limited to one specific window and remains a continuous process.
Special outreach will target residents who may be harder to reach through ordinary neighbourhood-level activity. The campaign includes visits and camps at night shelters, workers’ colonies and locations where homeless and itinerant people live. The stated aim is to identify eligible residents in these communities and support their registration.
The next steps include household visits by Booth Level Officers, neighbourhood-level camps and the processing of Form 6 applications through the relevant election officials. The Election Commission’s stated objective is to complete the inclusion process without leaving any eligible elector out of the rolls.
