The Election Commission of India has decided to seek written explanations from booth-level officers (BLOs) involved in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, following the identification of a large number of questionable entries in the draft voters’ list published on December 16. Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said around 1.4 crore cases have been flagged as “doubtful,” prompting the poll panel to demand clarity on how these names were first recommended for inclusion. The explanations will play a key role in determining whether these entries remain in the final voters’ list, scheduled to be published on February 14, 2026.
According to officials, BLOs will be required to justify the rationale behind enrolling such voters, particularly in cases where age and family details raise serious inconsistencies. One major category involves voters aged 45 or above whose names were missing from the 2002 electoral rolls, despite being legally eligible to vote at that time. These individuals were reportedly added during the current SIR process through progeny mapping, a method that has now come under scrutiny. Election officials argue that since the last SIR exercise in West Bengal took place in 2002, the absence of such voters from earlier rolls raises legitimate questions about the credibility of their current inclusion.
Further red flags include cases where voters are shown as having become parents at extremely young ages, including instances where individuals were recorded as fathers at 15 years or even younger, with at least one case allegedly indicating fatherhood at the age of five. Additional doubtful entries involve people listed as grandfathers by the age of 40, as well as records where the names of the voter’s father and mother are identical. Based on the written explanations submitted by BLOs, the ECI will decide which cases will be taken up for hearings on claims and objections, a process expected to begin on December 27. The outcome of this exercise is likely to be politically sensitive, as it comes just months ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections due next year.
