West Bengal's 2002 SIR electoral roll appears on CEO site amidst speculations of fresh voter list revision

The Hindu

3 days ago

Amid speculations of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being conducted for West Bengal's electoral roll, the 2002 voters' list of some districts has been made available online on the website of the State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Reportedly, the last SIR of the voters' list in West Bengal was conducted in 2002.
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This development assumes significance considering that in Bihar, the last SIR was conducted in 2003 and the electoral roll of that year has been kept as a reference point for the submission of identification documents for the SIR of 2025. 'The ease of availability of 2003 Electoral Rolls of Bihar, would hugely facilitate the ongoing SIR in Bihar as now nearly 60% of the total electorate, would not have to submit any documents,' a release on the Election Commission of India dated June 30 reads.
Speculations around an SIR in West Bengal further intensified in political circles after Saturday (July 26, 2025), when a Presidency Division Level Training Programme was conducted at Kolkata's Nazrul Mancha for Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Supervisors and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of Howrah, Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas.
In the training materials handed out to the participants, a passage on 'duties of BLO in SIR' mentioned carrying enumeration forms with printed details of existing electors, ID cards, and a stationery kit bag labelled Special Intensive Revision.
'Every BLO has to conduct one SIR in their lifetime. SIRs have been conducted many times in the past. It was carried out between 1952 and 2004. The training session held today does not indicate SIR,' the CEO, however, said to local presspersons on Saturday (July 26, 2025), adding that the ECI will notify if an SIR is to be conducted in the State.
Meanwhile, on Monday (July 28, 2025), Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, at an administrative meeting at West Bengal's Birbhum district, asked district authorities to ensure 'no one is harassed and genuine voters are not removed in the name of voter list revision.'
'In case of voters' lists, please see to it that people do not get harassed. Genuine voters should not be harassed. And, if you receive any instructions, please inform the Chief Secretary, and if needed, me. You are taking random decisions without informing us… this has never happened,' the Chief Minister told district authorities at Gitanjali Auditorium in Birbhum's Bolpur.
LoP alleges mass issuance of domicile certificates, voter registration forms
Leader of Opposition (LoP) of West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (July 28, 2025) took to X sharing his letter to the Chief Election Commissioner of India about the alleged issuance and submission of thousands of voter registration forms and domicile certificates, allegedly in districts adjacent to the India-Bangladesh border such as North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, and Coochbehar districts.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA alleged in his letter dated July 26, 2025, that these applications may involve Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, 'potentially supported by the directive to issue Domicile Certificates to facilitate their enrollment in voter lists.'
'The directive for the issuance of Domicile Certificates coincides with an alarming increase in the filing of form-6 applications for voter registration, particularly in these border districts, which is a clear cut attempt to dilute the prospective SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal, if held in West Bengal,' Mr. Adhikari wrote in the letter.
He also urged the West Bengal CEO, District Election Officers (DEOs), and other authorities concerned not to consider or accept any Domicile Certificates issued on or after July 25, 2025, during the SIR of West Bengal's electoral rolls, if conducted by the ECI.