Election officials across West Bengal have begun a door-to-door drive to identify eligible voters whose names were deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and help them apply for re-enrolment, the office of the state chief electoral officer said on Monday.
Booth-level officers will verify the status of affected electors and assist them in submitting Form 6, the application used to seek inclusion in the voters’ list. The initiative follows a directive from the Election Commission to identify people whose names appeared in the pre-SIR electoral roll but were missing from the current rolls.
District Election Officers have also been asked to organise special enrolment camps for eligible voters who were left out of the rolls, as well as for first-time voters. The state election office said residents with complaints could approach their Booth-Level Officer, Assistant Electoral Registration Officer, Electoral Registration Officer or District Election Officer.
“Special camps are being held throughout the state to ensure this. If any person has any complaint, please feel free to contact the BLO, AERO, ERO or DEO concerned. We are committed to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded from the voters list,” a statement signed by Arindam Niyogi, the state’s Additional Chief Electoral Officer, said.
The list of electors classified as absent, shifted, dead or deleted during the revision exercise has been made available on the website of the state chief electoral officer and through links on the websites of district election officers. Electors who find their names missing can apply online through Form 6 or seek assistance from their respective Booth-Level Officers.
The process, however, does not cover every disputed case. The chief electoral officer’s office clarified that cases rejected by judicial officers, as well as appeals pending before appellate tribunals, cannot be decided by executive election authorities through this re-enrolment exercise. Those matters will continue to be handled under the applicable judicial process.
The campaign follows concerns over the scale of exclusions during the SIR exercise. The draft revision identified more than 58 lakh electors as absent, shifted, dead or deleted. More than 60 lakh names were subsequently referred for adjudication, while around 27 lakh electors were deleted after the adjudication process, according to reports cited in the source material. Appellate tribunals received more than 22 lakh appeals seeking reinstatement.
Election officials have been instructed to coordinate with representatives of recognised political parties during the exercise. Their role will include supporting verification and helping identify eligible electors who may have been left out of the current rolls.
The re-enrolment drive will run alongside the regular enrolment process. District-level election authorities are responsible for monitoring implementation and processing applications according to electoral rules.
