ECI Team Visits Bengal Border Districts Amid Electoral Roll Controversy

Led by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, Principal Secretary SB Joshi, and Deputy Secretary Abhinav Agarwal, the team will review the progress of voter list revision in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri districts.

These districts, which share a border with Bangladesh, have been selected for the ECI team's inspection to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

During their visit, the team will conduct field reviews and inspect the work of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) who are responsible for conducting house-to-house verification of voters. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal will accompany the team to facilitate the review process.

The SIR aims to update voter lists across West Bengal's 294 assembly constituencies. Over 80,000 BLOs are conducting house-to-house visits until December 4 to verify and update voter information. To assist voters, 659 helpdesks have been set up across the state.

The Election Commission of India has launched the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across nine states and three Union Territories, covering nearly 51 crore electors.

The states and UTs included in this phase are Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.

The Enumeration Period, which began on November 4, will continue until December 4, during which Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will distribute unique, partially pre-filled Enumeration Forms (EFs) to every elector. The BLOs will visit households at least three times for the distribution and collection of forms.

Electors can also verify their names and details in the previous SIR electoral rolls on the website (link unavailable) and provide the necessary information in the Enumeration Form.

To facilitate the process, over 5.3 lakh BLOs, 7.64 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), 10,448 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs)/Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), and 321 District Election Officers (DEOs) have been deployed. Electors can seek assistance from BLOs through the "Book-a-call with BLO" facility on the ECINet App or dial the toll-free helpline at 1950 with their STD code.

The draft electoral rolls will be published on December 9, followed by a claims and objections period from December 9 to January 8, 2026. The final electoral rolls will be published on February 7, 2026.

However, the exercise has attracted opposition in some states, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, where political parties have raised concerns over the timing and process of the SIR.

- ANI