The Election Commission of India (ECI) has mandated a two-level verification process to authenticate the identity documents of voters during the claims and objections hearing on the draft voters’ list starting from December 27. Individuals categorized as “unmapped” voters, without any connection to the 2002 voters’ list, will be summoned for these sessions and must present one of the 13 specified identity documents to remain on the final voters’ list.
To prevent the submission of fraudulent documents, the ECI has instructed a two-step verification procedure. Initially, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will scrutinize the documents for authenticity, followed by a second verification by the District Magistrates, who also serve as the District Electoral Officers for the respective districts. This verification process will commence in early January after the conclusion of the hearing session.
The accountability of the EROs and DEOs has been established through this two-level verification system. Any instances of forged documents being accepted as genuine due to negligence will result in the responsible EROs or DEOs being held answerable. Deliberate oversight leading to the clearance of forged documents may impact the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of the officials involved.
The draft voters’ list was released on December 16, with the final list scheduled for publication on February 14, 2026. Following this, the ECI will announce the polling dates for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.
