Massive mismatches, missing names plague Bengal’s SIR

Twenty days into West Bengal’s three-month Special Intensive Revision (SIR), more than 7.64 crore voters have received their enumeration forms. Of these, over 41 per cent, about 3.15 crore forms, have already been digitised. But the process so far is far from being smooth as the ground reality reveals it is already buckling under systemic flaws and human suffering.

‘Core of the problem - faulty 2002 list’

Many BLOs told The Federal that the core of the problem lies in the 2002 SIR records.

The faulty 2002 list has created many mismatches, such as spouses being listed as fathers, misspelt names, duplicated or missing EPIC numbers, large numbers of missing names, and long-time residents being moved to incorrect constituencies.

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In some cases, the names of almost all voters in a booth are missing, while in another case a person’s name appears in the 2002 hard copy but does not show up in the BLO app. In other instances, the name matches, but the father’s or guardian’s name is different. These issues are a common refrain among multiple BLOs, who shared their experiences both on and off the record.

Several voters with same EPIC number

For instance, during the enumeration form-filling phase, it was found that in several booths of Raghunathpur-1 gram panchayat of the Tamluk assembly constituency in East Midnapore district, several voters had the same EPIC number in the 2002 list.

“While filling out the enumeration form for the SIR, I noticed that many of us in my family have the same EPIC number. Later I found that many others in our locality are facing the same issue,” local resident Jagannath Pal said over the phone.

Another resident, Tapasi Pal, added, “Why should we suffer because of the Election Commission’s mistakes? We want this issue to be resolved immediately, and our voter list corrected without subjecting us to the unnecessary hassle of submitting documents to prove our eligibility.”

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According to local administration sources, over 200 such cases have been detected in the locality. In addition, in the same locality, the absence of EPIC numbers next to many names in the 2002 voter list has also been observed, according to Krishn Gopal Pal, BLO of Booth 155.

“We have informed the administration about these problems,” he added.

There are also instances from other parts of the state where deceased voters have been incorrectly recorded as alive, while, conversely, living voters have been mistakenly listed as deceased.

Widespread omission of names

The widespread omission of names in the 2002 SIR is another serious challenge faced by the ongoing enumeration exercise, leaving affected voters deeply distressed, with some even taking the extreme step of committing suicide after discovering their names missing.

In booth number 160 of Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar, the hard copy of the 2002 voter list contained 846 names, but the current list uploaded by the Election Commission includes only 416. Similarly, in booth number 159 of the Ashoknagar Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district, the entire 2002 voter list is missing from the current records.

Many such instances have been flagged in the past weeks.

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In part no 232 of Bidhannagar Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district, the online roll stops at Serial No 903, but the physical list goes up to Serial No 984.

Acknowledging the issue, Election Commission sources stated that steps are now being taken to include the missing names in the draft SIR roll using the hard copy records, or, in cases where no records are available, the 2003 list will be referred to.

The 2002 SIR list is missing for about a hundred polling booths across the state.

Data quality mismatches

Not just missing names, there are significant data quality mismatches in the 2002 electoral rolls, which are full of spelling mistakes, address mismatches, and incorrect relative names.

These mismatches are making the BLOs’ jobs harder. When they try to match or upload filled forms, discrepancies (especially in name spellings or serial / part numbers) often lead to “No record found” errors or rejections, said a BLO Kaisar Rashid.

The process has so far also revealed several discrepancies in the voter lists.

Same name repeated in 44 locations

Entries for one Mayanani Goswami, a middle-aged housewife from Pandabeshwar in West Burdwan district, appear in voter lists across at least 44 locations, though her surname or title varies from Ray, Naya, Mondal to Ghosh, among others. Her age and husband’s name remain consistent.

The anomaly was discovered when a Block Level Officer scanned her enumeration form for uploading.

Mayarani, a widow, says she is unaware of any wrongdoing.

The BJP claims this may indicate a planned creation of fake voters, with former MLA Jitendra Tiwari demanding an investigation.

Also Read: BLO found dead in Bengal’s Nadia district, suicide note blames EC over SIR workload

Election officials are examining whether this is an administrative error or deliberate voter fraud, citing the unusual replication across districts.

In Nabadwip Assembly constituency’s Booth No 13 in Nadia district’s Mayapur, 65 voters listed the same person, Joypatakaswami Das, as their father in the 2002 SIR roll.

Sources say all these voters are resident brahmacharis of Mayapur ISKCON, who, after taking initiation, use their guru’s name as their father’s name. This has been a long-standing practice.

BLOs protest against ‘excessive workload’

Meanwhile, a section of BLOs staged a protest at the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Monday (November 24), citing “excessive workload” during the voter-list updating phase of the SIR.

So far, four BLOs have died in the state, including two by suicide, allegedly due to excessive workload.

Also Read: Mamata calls SIR in Bengal 'chaotic, coercive, and dangerous', urges CEC to stop it

The EC has refused to acknowledge claims that BLOs are under excessive pressure, noting that each officer is responsible for around 250 families, or 900 to 1,000 voters, and has a one-month window, from November 4 to December 4, to distribute forms, collect them, and digitise the data.

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