Kolkata: Confusion surrounding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has intensified in East Burdwan, as 21 voters were reportedly unable to find their names on the Election Commission’s recent voters list though they have their names in 2002’s voters roll. Many regular voters, who claim to have voted in 2002, were stunned to discover that their names had either disappeared or appeared with errors in the records.
Locals have alleged that names have been misspelled, misplaced under wrong addresses, or entirely omitted from the database in many places across Bengal.
“I have my voter card, Aadhaar, and every document. Also, I have my name in 2002’s voters list. Still, the portal shows no record of me in the recent list,” said a frustrated resident of Memari, East Burdwan, calling the situation “unbelievable and unjust.”
Election officials have acknowledged receiving complaints of such inconsistencies, attributing some of them to data migration issues during digital updates. However, residents continue to fear that these lapses may ultimately strip them of their voting rights. The issue isn’t confined to East Burdwan. Previously, Swapna Sarkar from Neora in Basirhat found her name had been shifted to Ranaghat in Nadia District, a place she had no connection with.
Similar chaos has erupted in Nadia’s Char Jajira, where more than a thousand villagers had their names missing in the 2002 voter list as many of them have been voting since 2009, after several years of attempting to enlist themselves in the voters rolls. They now fear being branded as “foreigners” despite holding valid identity proofs. The recurring discrepancies—from wrong spellings to vanished names—have sparked statewide concern about the accuracy and transparency of the SIR process.