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Over 4 Lakh Voters Face Deletion in Bengal for Skipping Hearings

Over 50,000 'unmapped' voters and more than 3.5 lakh 'logical discrepancy' cases in West Bengal have not appeared for electoral roll hearings despite notices, making them eligible for deletion. The hearing process is ongoing, with the Election Commission aiming to complete it by the February 7 deadline, though a selective extension is possible in about 15 constituencies. The final voters' list is scheduled for publication on February 14, which will clarify the total number of deletions. Following this, the full ECI bench will visit the state to assess the situation before announcing poll dates for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Key Points: 4 Lakh Voters May Be Deleted from Bengal Electoral Roll

  • 50k unmapped voters absent
  • 3.5 lakh discrepancy cases absent
  • Final list due Feb 14
  • Hearings deadline Feb 7
  • EC may extend some hearings
2 min read

Bengal SIR: 50,000 'unmapped' voters, 3.5 lakh 'logical discrepancy' cases yet to appear for hearing

Over 50,000 unmapped and 3.5 lakh logical discrepancy voters in West Bengal risk deletion for not attending EC hearings before the final list.

"Only around 15 of the 294 Assembly constituencies... still have incomplete hearings. - CEO's office insider"

Kolkata, Feb 6

Over 50,000 "unmapped" voters and more than 3.5 lakh voters identified as "logical discrepancy" cases in West Bengal have not turned up for hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters' list till Friday evening, despite repeated notices, and may face deletion from the final voters' list.

The total number of "unmapped" voters summoned for hearings stood at 31,68,426. Of these, a little over 50,000, or 1.57 per cent, did not appear despite repeated notices and have already been identified by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) as eligible for deletion from the final list.

The total number of voters identified as "logical discrepancy" cases and summoned for hearings stands at 94,49,132. The hearing process is currently underway, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) is confident of completing it within the scheduled deadline of February 7.

Out of these, a little over 3.5 lakh, or 3.70 per cent, have not turned up so far.

An insider in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that before finally deleting the names of absentee voters, individual communications would be sent to them citing the reasons for the proposed deletion.

Unmapped voters are those who were unable to establish any link with the 2002 voters' list either through "self-mapping" or "progeny mapping".

On the other hand, "logical discrepancy" cases are those in which unusual family-tree data were detected during "progeny" mapping.

The deadline for completion of the hearing process expires on February 7, and the final voters' list is scheduled to be published on February 14.

"Only around 15 of the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal still have incomplete hearings. In such cases, the Commission may selectively extend the hearing period by a couple of days," a CEO's office insider said.

When the draft voters' list was published in December last year, 58,20,899 voters were deleted after being identified as deceased, shifted, or duplicate.

With the publication of the final voters' list on February 14, the exact number of deletions will become clear.

After the publication, the full bench of the ECI will visit West Bengal to assess the situation. The Commission will then announce the polling dates for the Assembly elections scheduled later this year.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Priya S
While cleaning the list is important, I hope the EC is being extra careful. 50,000 people not showing up could be due to many reasons - migration for work, lack of awareness, or even faulty notices. Deleting names without proper verification is dangerous. 🤔
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Rahul R
Finally some action! For years we've heard about bogus voters in Bengal. If people can't even establish a link to the 2002 list or have "unusual family trees", what does that tell you? This cleanup is long overdue. Kudos to the EC.
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Anjali F
My uncle in Murshidabad got a notice. The process was confusing for him. He's a genuine voter but the "progeny mapping" had some error. He went to the hearing and it was sorted. The EC should do more awareness campaigns in rural areas.
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David E
Interesting data. A 3.7% no-show rate for discrepancy cases seems manageable. The key is the individual communication before final deletion - that's a good safeguard. Hope the process is transparent and non-partisan.
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Karthik V
Election season drama begins. Every party will now claim their voters are being targeted. The EC has a tough job. They must publish the constituency-wise data of deletions after Feb 14 to build public trust.
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Ne

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