Sources in the CEO’s office said artificial intelligence is also being used to detect any duplicates, and discrepancies in electors’ pictures and progeny mapping to the 2002 list. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Around 30 lakh electors in West Bengal have been unable to establish a link to the 2002 voters’ list and are likely to be called for hearing after the publication of the draft electoral roll, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal said on Thursday (December 11, 2025), the last day of the enumeration phase of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise.
This comprises nearly 4% of the 7.6 crore electors who were on the State’s electoral roll as of October 27, 2025. Sources said the number of electors to be called for hearing is expected to increase after the draft roll is published, based on additional factors.
These figures have been cited based on data collected till December 11, the last day of the enumeration phase of the SIR exercise.
Meanwhile, a total of 29.3 lakh voters (38.32%) has linked themselves to their own names in the 2002 electoral list, while 38.4 lakh voters (50.18%) have linked themselves to their parents and grandparents during enumeration. However, sources in the CEO’s office said that familial linkages as claimed by electors in their enumeration forms will be subjected to scrutiny and verification to weed out any discrepancies.
As of Thursday (December 11, 2025), the number of “uncollectable” forms on account of absent, shifted, duplicate and dead voters increased to over 58 lakhs in West Bengal, with around 24.2 lakh electors so far identified as dead, according to sources. Nearly 2 lakh voters have been identified as shifted and roughly 1.4 lakh as duplicate voters till Thursday afternoon.
Sources in the CEO’s office said artificial intelligence is also being used to detect any duplicates, and discrepancies in electors’ pictures and progeny mapping to the 2002 list.
West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Thursday (December 11, 2025) said that reports have also been sought from District Electoral Officers across the State on high-rises, group housing societies, and slums with over 250 houses or 500 electors where new polling booths can be proposed.
Notably, a day before, the Election Commission issued a notice to the CEO regarding the delay in submission of the proposed rearrangement of polling booths in the State, based on a survey of high-rises and slums. The Commission set December 31 as the deadline for the proposal to be sent to the Commission for approval, and February 7, 2026, as the date by which the rearrangement and rationalisation of polling booths in West Bengal is to be completed.
On Thursday (December 11, 2025), State election officials also met with high-ranking officials of law enforcement agencies including to discuss security measures for the upcoming legislative elections in West Bengal in 2026. According to sources in the CEO’s office, reports have been sought for security preparation, intra-agency cooperation, and security data from earlier elections.
Published – December 12, 2025 08:18 am IST
