Six lakh names likely to be deleted after completion of sir hearings in Bengal

The hearing process under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal has been completed, with the Election Commission of India receiving an initial estimate that the names of around 6.25 lakh voters are likely to be deleted from the rolls.

According to sources in the Election Commission of India, most of the voters whose names are set to be struck off did not appear during the hearings.

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The commission has indicated that the number of deletions is expected to rise further once verification of documents submitted by voters, who attended the hearings, is completed.

Earlier, nearly 58 lakh names had been removed from the draft electoral rolls.

The last scheduled day of SIR hearings in the state was Saturday but officials in the CEO office said that the hearing process has completed much before the deadline.

According to initial estimates, so far, the commission assessed that 6.25 lakh names would be deleted, a figure likely to increase as document scrutiny continues.

Of the voters who appeared at the hearings, information related to another 10 to 13 lakh voters is yet to be uploaded.

So far, the data of around 1.23 crore voters has been verified. Verification will continue until 21 February, officials said.

Commission sources said that while most of the names recommended for deletion belong to voters who failed to attend the hearings, scrutiny of documents submitted by those who did appear is still underway.

In some cases, officials have raised doubts over the authenticity or adequacy of documents produced during the hearings, and such names have also been recommended for deletion.

Two categories of voters were called for document verification during the hearings. Voters whose names could not be linked to the 2002 electoral rolls ~ the so-called “no mapping” category ~ were required to appear in person and submit valid documents.

In addition, voters whose names were linked to the 2002 rolls but had discrepancies such as spelling errors or inconsistencies in personal details were also summoned.

Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and Booth Level Officers were present at the hearing centres to conduct verification.

As per the commission’s earlier schedule, the SIR hearings began on 27 December and were supposed to conclude on 7 February.

The final electoral roll was initially slated for publication on 14 February, but the date has now been deferred to 28 February.

During the SIR exercise, the commission issued around 1.5 crore notices across the state.

Of these, nearly 32 lakh were issued to unmapped voters, while around 1.20 crore voters were called due to logical or data-related discrepancies.

With the hearings now complete, the commission has arrived at the provisional figure of 6.25 lakh deletions, which is expected to rise once the ongoing verification of submitted documents is concluded.