West Bengal SIR: Special drive in all 24 districts to include eligible voters

District Election Officers have started a special drive in all 24 districts of West Bengal to include all eligible voters in the electoral roll. The move comes after the Election Commission of India sent instructions to State election officials.

Also Raed: Comparing SIR 2002-04 and 2025-26

“As per the instructions of the Election Commission of India, 24 DEOs of the State of West Bengal have started a proactive campaign to ensure that no eligible elector is left out of the electoral rolls. Special camps are being held throughout the State to ensure this,” the notice issued by the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s office said. 

The notice signed by Additional CEO Arindam Niyogi also said that all eligible voters can get in touch with local officers like the Booth Level Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, and District Election Officers if they encounter any problems in the process. 

Several special voter help camps have already been started across the State to help people get added to the rolls.  

Just 11 days ago, the CEO of the West Bengal office said that all deleted eligible voters are now allowed to apply through Form 6 to restore their names to the electoral rolls. They also put up the list of Absent, Shifted, Dead, and Duplicate [ASDD] voters on their website for people to check whether anyone was wrongfully deleted. 

Also Read: Deleted West Bengal voters move SC against SIR

According to the first draft roll published in December 2025, West Bengal had over 58 lakh ASDD voters. Around 24.16 lakh electors were identified as deceased, 32.65 lakh voters as shifted and absent, and 1.38 lakh electors were found to have duplicate enrolments in multiple places. 

As the tension around the ECI rises and the pressure mounts over allegations of wrongful deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, the poll body is undertaking new drives to include wrongfully deleted voters back into the rolls across the country. 

However, the fate of the 27 lakh people whose names are before the 19 Appellate Tribunals for review remains uncertain. Their names were deleted after the final step of the SIR process found them “ineligible” to be included in the voter rolls.