Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to begin the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal from November 1, according to sources. All District Election Officers (DEOs) have reportedly received the necessary directives to initiate the process.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bengal has already communicated with all District Magistrates (DMs), instructing them to make the required preparations for the revision exercise. As part of these preparations, each DEO and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) has been asked to set up a help desk in their respective offices to address SIR-related queries and provide assistance.
In addition, the DEOs have been directed to convene a multi-party meeting the day after the formal announcement of the SIR to ensure transparency and coordination among all stakeholders.
The Bengal CEO communicated necessary instructions to all District Magistrates after a meeting with the ECI. According to sources, the CEO’s office will remain open 24×7, and all personnel involved in SIR-related work must be present in the office. All party meetings will be convened both at the state level by the CEO and at the district level by the respective District Magistrates. All discussions and decisions from these meetings must be reported to the Election Commission. Earlier, CEO Gyanesh Kumar had asserted that the ECI has already decided to conduct an SIR exercise throughout the country, which will be announced after talks.
The ECI has already taken a decision to conduct a pan-India SIR in every state and Union Territory.
The 2-day crucial meeting in New Delhi on the SIR exercise concluded on Thursday, where the CEOs’ of the states and Union Territories had attended. It was learnt that the Election Commission directed the CEOs to finalise their preparations for the SIR.
The ECI will have to verify within three months 3.5 crore voters who were not on the state’s 2002 SIR list. The electoral roll published post 2002 SIR and one in January 2025 have thrown up a 52 per cent match. Bengal has a voter base of 7.6 crore, according to the ECI data.