The Election Commission of India (ECI) has pinpointed five districts in West Bengal where there has been a significant surge in the uploading of “unlisted” documents during the hearing session on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list. These districts include Cooch Behar, Malda, Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas, all of which share borders with Bangladesh. Additionally, East Burdwan and West Burdwan districts have also reported slightly elevated irregularities.
According to sources from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal, the majority of the “unlisted” document uploads were noted in cases of “logical discrepancy,” while instances of similar irregularities among “unmapped” voters were minimal. “Unmapped” voters refer to individuals who could not establish a connection with the 2002 voters’ list through self or progeny mapping.
The Election Commission emphasized the importance of accepting only the 13 listed documents as valid identity proofs. Despite this directive, the continuous high volume of “unlisted” document uploads in the identified districts has raised concerns within the Commission. In response, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar instructed district magistrates and electoral officers to remove any “unlisted” documents from the system by February 16.
The final voters’ list for West Bengal is set to be released on February 28, followed by a two-day visit from a full bench of the ECI on March 1 to evaluate the post-SIR situation in the state. Subsequently, the ECI will announce the polling dates for the upcoming crucial assembly election in West Bengal.
