AITC flags 'serious irregularities' in SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal, writes letter to EC

In a detailed letter, addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC); and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, the party said the revision exercise had been marked by procedural violations, technical failures, and arbitrary decisions that threaten the integrity of the electoral process.

"We write to you with deep concern regarding the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Over the past four months, our party has raised repeated, documented concerns before the Election Commission, many of which have remained unresolved, necessitating recourse to the Hon'ble Supreme Court, a stepthat should never have been required," the letter states.

The party alleged that the SIR process deviated from statutory procedures and that the authority of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) was bypassed. According to the letter, District Election Officers and micro-observers were allowed to exercise powers that legally belong to EROs.

"The SIR process has been marred by systematic deviations from statutory procedure, informal communications, and deliberate circumvention of the legal authority vested in Electoral Registration Officers," the letter said.

It also claimed that critical instructions were communicated informally through messaging platforms rather than official written directives.

"Critical SIR instructions... were conveyed informally via WhatsApp messages and verbal directions," the letter alleged, adding that such practices undermine "transparency, traceability, and written accountability."

AITC further alleged that government-issued documents were rejected despite existing guidelines recognising them as valid proof of residence.

"Officials were orally instructed to reject government-issued land and house allotment certificates despite explicit guidelines recognising them as valid proof," the letter claimed.

The party also cited technical issues with the ECINet portal used for electoral roll verification.

"System glitches rendered previously uploaded documents and enumeration forms blurred or inaccessible, causing roll observers to wrongly flag cases for review," the letter said.

One of the most serious concerns raised in the letter relates to the scale of voter deletions during the revision process.

"The numbers speak for themselves: 63,66,952 voters have been deleted from the rolls, while 60,06,675 voters remain in adjudication," the party wrote, adding that the figures raise questions about the transparency of the exercise.

It also pointed to a discrepancy between objections filed and actual deletions.

"Over 13 times more voters have been deleted than objections filed," the letter claimed, calling the gap "inexplicable" and demanding an explanation.

The letter also stated that several elected representatives and government officials were affected by deletions or adjudication during the process.

According to the document, individuals, including councillors, MLAs, and government officers, had their voter records either deleted or placed under adjudication despite their publicly documented residential status.

In the letter, AITC urged the Election Commission to immediately intervene and correct the process. Among its key demands were restoring statutory authority to EROs, accepting valid government documents, conducting an independent audit of portal failures, and publishing supplementary electoral rolls transparently.

"The irregularities documented above are not technical oversights. They represent a systematic pattern of procedural violations... that strike at the foundational integrity of the democratic process in West Bengal," the letter said.

The party concluded by urging the Commission to ensure that the final electoral rolls are "accurate, inclusive, and legally sound," adding that it remains ready to provide further documentation if required.

Earlier, on February 28, the ECI released the final electoral roll following the SIR of voter lists in West Bengal, stating that 5,46,053 voters have been deleted using Form 7 after the draft list was published in December 2025.

The total number of voters in West Bengal now stands at 7,04,59,284 voters (7.04 crore) as compared to 7,66,37,529 (7.66 crore) before the SIR exercise, showing a change of more than 61 lakh names in the list.

According to a press note by the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), a total of 58,20,899 Enumeration Forms were not received, as the poll body found 24,16,852 voters to be deceased, 12,20,039 absent, 19,88,076 shifted, 1,38,328 already enrolled, and 57,604 names were deleted based on other reasons.

After the ECI published the draft voter list on December 16, 2025, the poll body added a total of 1,82,036 voters to the list using Forms 6 and 6A, and made 6,671 additions by Form 8.

As per the Commission, 60,06,675 electors under adjudication were included in the final roll. (ANI)