Bengal SIR: 2,208 polling booths under ECI scanner for 100% digitisation, ‘zero dead, duplicate voters’

As the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls picks up momentum in West Bengal, more than 7,000 polling booths have come under the scanner of the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal for recording zero to ten ‘uncollectable’ enumeration forms, indicating negligible voter deaths, duplicities, relocations or absence. 

Around 2,208 polling booths have recorded collection and digitisation of 100% enumeration forms, with no forms identified as uncollectable due to an elector’s death or other reasons. In nearly 4,764 booths, where Booth-Level Officers (BLO) have completed the collection and digitisation of all enumeration forms, only a small number of forms — between one and 10 — were recorded as uncollectable.

There were 80,661 polling booths at the beginning of the SIR exercise in West Bengal, each catering to around 900 to 1,000 electors. According to sources in the CEO’s office, in 582 booths, only one enumeration form each was uncollectable. In 420 booths, only two forms each, in 372 booths, only three forms each, and in 374 booths, only four forms each, could not be collected.

All these booths with zero or negligible dead/duplicate/shifted/absent voters have triggered scrutiny by the Election Commission of India. On Monday (December 1, 2025), West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal sought a report from the District Electoral Officers for booths where no ineligible or untraceable voters have been found. These include districts like South 24 Parganas with over 700 such booths, Purulia with 228 such booths, Murshidabad with 226 booths and Malda with 216 booths, according to sources in the CEO’s office. 

Additionally, Mr Agarwal has directed all election officials carrying out the enumeration phase of SIR across districts to tally deaths from other available government records, and for Booth-Level Officials to correct any mistakes made in digital entries through the BLO app.

This development assumes significance with the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday ( December 1), gross irregularities in the digitisation of filled-up enumeration forms by the State Government officials, and sought an audit of about 1.25 crore entries made between November 26 and 28 during the ongoing enumeration phase of SIR.

According to sources in the CEO’s office, as of December 2, 99.92% of electors in West Bengal have received their enumeration forms, and 97.34% forms have been digitised. Before the SIR began, 7.66 crore voters were listed in the State’s electoral roll.

Sources also said that as of today, around 45 lakh forms have remained uncollectable owing to deaths, duplicities, relocation, or absence of electors. Of them, nearly 22.2 lakh voters have been identified as dead, 6.4 lakh as untraceable, 16.22 lakhs as shifted, and roughly 1 lakh as fake or duplicate voters, based on the collection and digitisation of enumeration forms in the State.