The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began across West Bengal on Tuesday, along with similar exercises in 11 other states. From early morning, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of the Election Commission of India (EC) were seen visiting households across the state, distributing enumeration forms and collecting voter data. The nationwide SIR aims to update and authenticate voter lists through a door-to-door verification process.
In Bengal, the process has gained political overtones, with the Trinamul Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trading barbs over the issue. The Election Commission has confirmed that a three-member delegation from Delhi will visit the state on Wednesday to review the progress of the SIR exercise. The delegation comprises deputy election commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, deputy secretary abhinav Agarwal, and principal secretary S B Joshi. The team will remain in Bengal until Friday and is expected to visit Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar districts to assess the on-ground implementation and review the work of BLOs. The visit comes amid a political storm triggered by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks, which the BJP described as “open threats” to BLOs.
The Election Commission of India has however assured its field officers of full protection and security while carrying out the SIR tasks. BJP leaders, on the other hand, have intensified their campaign against what they allege is the TMC’s attempt to protect illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, claiming such names have long inflated Bengal’s voter rolls. According to EC sources, West Bengal currently has over 7.66 crore voters, spread across 294 Assembly constituencies. As of Monday, voter data mapping had been completed for 2,45,71,114 voters — around 32.06 per cent of the electorate.
The mapping exercise involves cross-verifying the current voter list with that of 2002 to identify discrepancies and verify parental details of existing voters. The enumeration process — essentially a door-to-door survey — will continue until 4 December. Each household will receive two copies of the enumeration form: one to be signed and returned to the BLO, and another to be retained by the voter. Only those forms bearing the voter’s signature will be considered valid for inclusion in the draft list. For citizens living outside the state, the EC has also introduced an online system to complete the enumeration process.
However, officials indicated that the online facility may take another couple of days to become operational. During the mapping stage, voters whose records already match the 2002 database will not be required to submit additional documents. Those without verifiable links, however, will undergo a detailed verification process. Despite this, enumeration forms will reach every registered voter across the state. The EC has printed double the number of forms required to ensure smooth coverage.
The last comprehensive revision of Bengal’s voter rolls was conducted in 2002. The current SIR process will conclude with the publication of the draft electoral roll on 9 December, followed by a period of claims and objections until 31 January. The final voter list is scheduled for publication on February 7, 2026.