A large number of urban voters in Bengal are still missing from contact despite repeated visits by BLOs during the Special Intensive Revision, highlighting issues in updating the electoral rolls.
Around 95 per cent of voters in the state have already been given their enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. However, Election Commission officials say that nearly 30 per cent of voters across 36 urban Assembly constituencies remain “untraceable.” Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visited the registered addresses three times but still could not find them. On Thursday night, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal held an online meeting with district election officials and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to understand why form distribution was so low in these areas. This has raised a key concern: could some of these “missing” voters actually be non-existent or ghost voters?
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According to sources, district officials have identified three main reasons behind voters not being located. One group includes slum dwellers. Over the years, many slums and makeshift settlements in cities have been demolished for new buildings. The original residents have relocated, and BLOs could not find their new addresses, making it impossible to deliver forms. The second group consists of long-term tenants in urban areas. Many have moved out of rented houses, and neighbours or landlords were unaware of where they relocated. BLOs visited such houses thrice but could not trace these voters, creating challenges for field workers.
This issue has surfaced in places like Siliguri in North Bengal, Asansol in West Burdwan, Birbhum, Howrah, North Kolkata, and multiple constituencies in North and South 24 Parganas. The CEO’s office reported that many residents of Alipurduar have shifted to Assam. In Kharagpur, officials failed to locate numerous residents of railway colony quarters, as people who originally lived there for work had moved away after retirement or transfer.
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Since the distribution rate has dropped below 75 per cent in several constituencies, the Commission has asked the CEO to hold discussions with the respective districts. The CEO has directed BLOs to clearly record cases in their app where voters could not be found. Once the forms are submitted, the draft electoral roll will reveal which names are missing. Those whose names do not appear may apply until January 9 by submitting Form 6 along with the required SIR documents.
