Kolkata, Feb 20 (UNI) Over 4 lakh voters’ documents have been marked as “ineligible” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, raising the possibility that over 10 lakh names could be excluded from the final list, according to sources familiar with the process.
Micro-observers appointed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) have flagged documents submitted by 444,970 voters as ineligible, the sources said. Details have been forwarded to the Commission for further action.
In addition, documents submitted by 466,323 voters are pending verification with district magistrates.
Earlier, about seven lakh voters did not appear for hearings conducted as part of the revision process. Combined with those whose documents have been declared ineligible, more than 10 lakh voters could potentially be dropped from the final electoral rolls.
The Commission had earlier identified around 58 lakh voters as deceased, absent or missing, leading to their exclusion from the draft list.
During the hearing phase, a further 10 lakh 1voters were identified. Of these, nearly seven lakh (700,000) voters failed to attend hearings, while the remaining cases relate to documents found ineligible.
Following directions from the Supreme Court of India, the Commission has said the final electoral roll for West Bengal will be published on Feb. 28.
However, officials said significant work remains. The deadline for document verification is Feb. 21, and if the process is not completed by then, publication of the final list could be delayed.
Sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said the Commission may seek an extension if disposal of pending cases is not completed in time.
During the hearings, voters submitted various documents, which are being scrutinised by Commission-appointed micro-observers.
Micro-observers have referred documents of about 30 lakh voters back to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) for re-verification, according to Commission sources. Around 20 lakh voters’ documents remain pending with EROs and AEROs,with no final decision taken so far.
The Commission had earlier published a list of 13 acceptable documents for the SIR process and stated that documents outside the list would not be accepted, a position later endorsed by the Supreme Court.
However, sources said confusion arose in some cases where documents not included in the approved list were submitted and reportedly accepted by officials. Explanations may be sought from those concerned, the sources added.
These cases are expected to be resolved after further consultations with officials.
