West Bengal's Voter Verification Drive: A Closer Look

The Electoral Registration Officers in West Bengal are set to commence a major voter verification process by issuing hearing notices to around 3.2 million unmapped voters. The initiative is part of the Special Intensive Revision to ensure accurate electoral rolls for 2026, involving detailed hearings and document verification.

The Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in West Bengal will begin issuing notices to voters for hearings as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to an official statement. Starting Thursday, the notices target approximately 32 lakh voters whose details remain unlinked to the 2002 data but are listed in the draft rolls for 2026.

While inclusion in the draft does not guarantee exemption from hearings, the process is said to be simpler for such voters. On December 18, EROs will start issuing hearing notices, two copies each—one for the voter and the other retained by the Booth Level Officer after signature confirmation.

The hearings are set to take place at government offices, with ongoing screenings for logical discrepancies. Officials urge voters to prepare the 11 documents required by the Election Commission. The state's Special Roll Observer, Subrata Gupta, is expected to visit North Bengal soon to assess the SIR's progress.

(With inputs from agencies.)