Page 8 - Election Commission Of India

Bengal SIR hearings disrupted in Hooghly after TMC MLA stages protest

SIR hearings at Chinsurah-Mogra block office in West Bengal's Hooghly district were halted for some time on Monday after TMC MLA Asit Mazumdar objected to the exclusion of booth-level agents (BLAs) during the process, officials said. The hearings, which are being conducted at the block office for three assembly constituencies, were stopped after Mazumdar insisted that BLAs be allowed to remain present during the process. He demanded that officials either permit BLAs to attend the hearings or give in writing that they would not be allowed. "Unless BLAs are allowed or officials give in writing that they will not be allowed, we will not allow the hearings," Mazumdar told reporters, following which the entry and exit gates of the block office were closed, preventing people from entering the premises. As per Election Commission guidelines, BLAs are not permitted to be present during such hearings. Later, Mazumdar toned down his stand and allowed the hearings to resume, citing humanitar

Kapil Sibal criticises govt over deaths of 33 BLOs during SIR exercise

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal took a swipe at the government on Monday over the death of booth-level officers in various parts of the country engaged in the SIR exercise, asking whether the presence of one alleged "infiltrator" was not okay, but the death of BLOs was okay. Sibal's remarks came a day after a Booth Level Officer (BLO) was found dead in West Bengal's Bankura district, triggering allegations that work-related pressure linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls may have played a role. "Yet another suicide by a Bengal BLO. Total pan-India: 33. If one alleged 'ghuspetia (infiltrator)', that's not OK, if 33 BLOs die, is that Ok?" Sibal said in a post on X. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said last month that the government would throw out infiltrators from the country and alleged that some political parties are opposing the SIR exercise as they want the names of infiltrators to remain on the electoral rolls. The latest death of a BLO occurred in t

Trinamool Party's 10-member delegation to meet CEC on Dec 31 over SIR row

A 10-member Trinamool Congress delegation will meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on December 31 on the issue of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, a source said on Saturday. According to the source, the delegation, which will include Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien, Trinamool leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively, will raise the issue of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. The ruling party of Bengal has been raising concerns over the SIR exercise for some time now. On Saturday, Banerjee, the national general secretary of the party, demanded that the Election Commission (EC) must come out with the number of illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas out of the 58.20 lakh names deleted in the draft electoral rolls published for West Bengal under the SIR. On November 28, a Trinamool delegation had met the full bench of the EC, alleging deaths of booth-level officers (BLOs) due to the "work pressure" o

1.05 mn names deleted as EC releases Assam draft electoral rolls after SIR

The names of 10.56 lakh voters have been deleted after the Special Revision of electoral rolls in Assam, where assembly polls would be in less than six months. According to the integrated draft rolls released by the Election Commission on Saturday, the state has a total of 2,51,09,754 voters, excluding 93,021 D-Voters or doubtful voters. Additionally, the names of 10,56,291 voters have been deleted due to death, shifting, or multiple entries. D-Voters are a category of voters in Assam who have been disenfranchised by the government on account of their alleged lack of proper citizenship credentials. D-Voters are determined by special tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the person declared as a D-Voter is not given a voter card. All related particulars, such as name, age and photograph, of D-Voters have been carried forward to the draft electoral roll without any change. The draft rolls were published after house-to-house verification of the Special Revision was held from .

Reveal Bangladeshis, Rohingyas out of 5.82 million deleted voters: Abhishek

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday said that the Election Commission must come out with the number of illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas out of the 58.20 lakh names deleted after the publication of draft electoral rolls in West Bengal under the ongoing SIR. Alleging that Bengal was being targeted selectively by the Centre since the TMC won the 2021 assembly polls in the state, he claimed that the "agenda is to harass the people of the state". The Trinamool Congress national general secretary also said that Bengal's population is 10.05 crore, and the number of voter deletions in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is 58.20 lakh. "This is just 5.79 per cent of the population, the lowest among all the states where SIR is being held," Banerjee said while addressing a press conference here. He demanded that the "ECI come out with the number of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas out of 58.20 lakh names deleted".

TMC says EC deleted lakhs of voters in West Bengal to benefit BJP

The Trinamool Congress on Saturday accused the Election Commission (EC) of deleting the names of lakhs of legitimate voters from the electoral rolls under the SIR exercise to help the BJP ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls. A TMC delegation consisting of ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya, Sashi Panja, Aroop Biswas, Manas Bhuniya, Malay Ghatak met Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal at his office and submitted a memorandum listing their grievances. "We are seeing different sets of rules and practices being applied in Bengal compared to other states. In the name of cross-checking absent, shifted and duplicate' voters, the EC has omitted around 58 lakh genuine voters by branding them as unmapped'," Bhattacharya told reporters after the meeting. She alleged that the action seems to be part of the bigger gameplan to delete two crore voters' names from the electoral rolls in order to punish the people of the state for rejecting the BJP repeatedly. Biswas alleged that the mobil

SIR hearings to begin today in Bengal; 320K unmapped voters to be covered

The hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal will commence on Saturday, with 3,234 centres set up across the state, a senior official said. Around 32 lakh "unmapped" voters, those who are unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll, will be called for hearings in the first phase, he said. Voters will be allowed to submit any of 12 recognised documents, including Aadhaar, as proof of identity and address, the official at the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said on Friday. However, the commission has clarified that the Aadhaar card will not be accepted as a standalone document. "Electoral lists prepared during the recent SIR exercise in Bihar will also be considered valid documents. However, submission of fake or forged documents will be treated as a punishable offence," the official warned. State Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said all preparations for the hearings have been completed. "Th

West Bengal SIR: No large-scale impact on Muslim-dominated districts

Largest voter removal in West Bengal in at least a decade

Mamata alleges gross errors in EC's SIR exercise, accuses poll body of bias

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday lashed out at the Election Commission, alleging that there were gross errors in the SIR exercise conducted so far in the state. Addressing a meeting of TMC's booth level agents at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here, Banerjee also alleged that the EC was appointing observers without informing the state govt, and working to foster the BJP's interests. The Election Commission is working only as per the directions of the BJP. There are gross errors in mapping of voters during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in the state, she alleged. The TMC supremo also asserted that cental officers who have been appointed micro observers for SIR hearings have little knowledge of the local language, and are unfit to conduct the verifications during the second phase of the ongoing revision exercise.

Only Indians should be part of voters' list: CEC on electoral rolls

Stressing the need for "purification of electoral rolls" from time to time, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said only Indian citizens should be in the voters' list. Addressing the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of Telangana here, he said India is the world's largest democracy. The BLOs formed the backbone of India's electoral system and the success of electoral roll purification depended on their diligence and integrity. He noted that the global community closely watched India's elections to understand how the world's largest democracy functioned. He said during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the BLOs of Bihar had shown the way to the country. Under the phase-III of SIR, Telangana would demonstrate to the entire country how the exercise should be conducted. On the SIR undertaken by the Election Commission in Bihar, he said the exercise had been carried out flawlessly. The list of deleted electors in Bihar included 22 lakh who had passed

Urban Bengal sees biggest voter deletions in EC's SIR draft rolls

The data revealed that 2.46 million voters, or 3.15 per cent, were identified as deceased, while 3.26 million were found to have shifted residence or were absent

Over 2.4 mn voters remain untraced after enumeration phase in Kerala SIR

Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar on Saturday said that 24,08,503 voters remain untraced after the enumeration stage of the SIR of the electoral rolls in the state. He was speaking at an all-party meeting convened to review the SIR procedures. Kelkar presented the SIR figures after the completion of the enumeration process. According to the data, 24,08,503 enumeration forms remain uncollected out of 2.78 crore existing voters in the state, accounting for 8.65 per cent. Of these, 6,49,885 pertain to deceased persons, 6,45,548 voters were found untraceable, and 8,16,221 voters were identified as having permanently shifted from their registered addresses. In addition, 1,36,029 duplicate voters and 1,60,830 voters falling under other categories were identified. Kelkar said the draft electoral roll will be published on December 23. He said issues related to the voters' list can be addressed during the grievance redressal period from December 23 to January 22, 2026. Also,

ECI releases draft electoral roll for Tamil Nadu; over 970K voters removed

Since this is a draft list, electors will have an opportunity to appeal to have their names included, with the "Claims and Objections" period running from December 19 to January 18, 2026

Gyanesh Kumar must answer how EC allowed vote theft, says Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said every step of the poll process arouses suspicion and asserted that the chief election commissioner and the two election commissioners must answer how they "conspired" to take away people's voting rights. Addressing the party's 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' mega rally at Ramlila grounds here, Priyanka Gandhi said Indians must rise when the country's institutions are being crushed. She named Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and said the BJP will not be able to save them, as one day they will be forced to answer for "conspiring" to take away people's vote. "I challenge the BJP to contest polls on the ballot paper. They know they will never win," the Congress general secretary said. "You should not lose heart over losing Bihar, the entire country knows BJP wins through 'vote chori'," she said. The party leader said the Election Commission turned a blind eye to Rs .

Election Commission extends timeline for SIR in 5 states and 1 UT

The decision came after several extension requests were received from the Chief Electoral Officers

Mamata calls Shah 'dangerous', warns of dharna over SIR voter deletions

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday called Union Home Minister Amit Shah "dangerous", and warned that she would sit on a dharna if even a single eligible voter's name was struck off from the list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Launching a blistering attack on Shah, the chief minister said at a rally in Krishnanagar in Nadia district, "The country's home minister is dangerous. You can see it in his eyes it's terrifying. In one eye, you see 'Duryodhan', and in the other, 'Dushasan'." Alleging that the SIR was being used as a political weapon ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, Banerjee said, "If even a single eligible voter's name is struck off, I will sit on a dharna. There will be no detention camps in West Bengal. They are so hungry for votes that they are conducting the SIR just two months before elections." Banerjee said that she herself had not filled out her enumeration form so far. "Do I now need to prove my citizensh

EC to share list of dead, absent voters with parties before SIR draft roll

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday said the booth-level agents appointed by political parties will be provided with a list of dead, shifted and dead voters before the publication of the draft voters' list in the 12 states and Union territories where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is underway. The draft electoral rolls in these nine states and three Union territories will be published on December 16. The EC said the chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the 12 states and Union territories have been asked to share a booth-wise list of absent, shifted and dead or duplicate voters with the booth-level agents (BLAs). These are the voters with whom the booth-level officers (BLOs) could not establish contact despite three attempts. The EC had followed a similar procedure during the Bihar SIR.

Lok Sabha to continue SIR discussion on 8th day of ongoing winter session

The upper house of Parliament is also set to take up discussion on electoral reforms after further discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram on Wednesday

Vote chori anti-national act, EC colluding with BJP: Rahul Gandhi

BJP defends EVMs, cites Rajiv Gandhi's pilot project, accuses Opposition of double standards

Supreme Court warns of 'anarchy' as BLOs face threats during SIR process

The Supreme Court voiced concern over booth-level officers being threatened during the SIR of electoral rolls and asked the Election Commission to flag any non-cooperation by states