SIR of electoral rolls begins in Bengal, over 18 lakh enumeration forms distributed

Kolkata, Nov 4 (PTI) The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began across West Bengal on Tuesday, with over 80,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) visiting homes to distribute enumeration forms, kicking off a politically sensitive exercise ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.

More than 18 lakh enumeration forms were distributed by the BLOs till 5 pm, a senior official said.

The month-long enumeration process will continue till December 4.

"Enumeration Forms in duplicate have been handed over to more than 18 lakh electors till 5 pm during the first day of house-to-house visit," the official said.

However, the rollout was not without hiccups: a technical glitch disrupted the online distribution of forms on the first day, while hundreds of schoolteachers engaged as BLOs struggled to balance election duties with their regular classes.

Speaking on reports about BLOs being obstructed in some areas, the official at the CEO's office said that they have sought a report from the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) concerned in this matter.

While the BJP has welcomed the SIR as a step towards ensuring greater transparency in the electoral rolls, the ruling TMC has questioned its timing and intent, alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is acting under pressure from the saffron party to manipulate the voter list ahead of the state elections next year.

"Altogether, 80,681 BLOs have been deployed to conduct the exercise across the 294 assembly constituencies. Around 7.66 crore enumeration forms have been prepared, and each voter will receive two copies -- one to retain with a stamped acknowledgement and one for Election Commission records," an EC official said.

He expressed hope that the process will proceed smoothly across the state.

"Messages of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and District Election Officers (DEOs) have been disseminated in all audiovisual media and social media platforms for the information of all the electors. All activities relating to SIR are progressing well as per schedule in West Bengal," he said.

The SIR is being held in West Bengal after a gap of 23 years. The last such exercise was held in the state in 2002.

The Election Commission's plan for simultaneous online distribution suffered a setback after the voter portal failed to launch due to backend issues.

"It is due to a technical problem. We hope the service will be activated within a few days," another official said, without specifying a timeline.

Despite the snag, officials at the CEO's office expressed confidence that both online and offline processes would run smoothly in the coming days, describing the exercise as West Bengal's most comprehensive voter list update in over two decades.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal Teachers' Association voiced concern that a large number of teachers deputed as BLOs could not participate in the form distribution on Tuesday as they were required to report to their schools.

"Many teachers could not join the house-to-house process since they were on duty at school. Those whose schools are close to the distribution centres are somehow managing both," said Golam Mustafa Sarkar, an office-bearer of the association.

The association has demanded that teachers engaged in SIR duties be given "on-duty" status to avoid what it called an "inhuman workload".

"Without on-duty status, teachers are being forced to handle both academic and election-related work simultaneously," Sarkar said, also flagging safety concerns for teachers who may have to travel to remote areas in the evenings after school hours.

A teacher from Murshidabad said he was unable to participate in Tuesday's exercise but plans to make up for it on the next public holiday.

Several BLOs have also complained that they have not yet received their designated mobile phones required for the enumeration process.

SIR-related help desks have been opened at the offices of District Election Officers (DEOs) across West Bengal to assist voters, while major political parties -- including the TMC, BJP, and CPI(M) -- have also set up their own voter help counters at district and local offices to "assist people with form filling and verification." "Help desks have been set up in all offices of the 24 DEOs, 294 EROs and 341 BDOs/AEROs to facilitate the electors," he said.

Political observers view the SIR as a crucial pre-election exercise in West Bengal, where both the TMC and BJP have intensified their outreach to ensure no supporter is left off the rolls.

With the revision of the electoral rolls serving as the foundation for the 2026 assembly polls, parties are leaving little to chance.

According to the EC schedule, the draft rolls will be published on December 9. Claims and objections can be raised between December 9 and January 8, followed by hearings and verifications up to January 31.

The final electoral rolls will be published on February 7, while the assembly polls are likely to be held in April-May next year.

Meanwhile, a total of 63,940 BLAs were appointed by the poll panel, an official said. PTI SCH BSM BDC PNT ACD SCH ACD NN