West Bengal CEO Assures No Genuine Voter's Name Will Be Dropped in SIR Exercise

PTI, October 28, 2025, Kolkata :  West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal assured on Tuesday that no legitimate voter's name would be struck off the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.

He expressed confidence that the revised voter list would be 100% fair and transparent. “I would like to assure you that not a single legitimate voter's name will be excluded from the list. We are hopeful that it will be a completely fair voter list,” Agarwal told reporters after an all-party meeting at the CEO office in Kolkata.

Currently, the state has 7,66,37,529 voters, the CEO stated. “We didn't have the time in Bihar, but we have enough time in Bengal. So, there’s no chance for confusion. The increase in voters compared to 2002 is normal, with many names being transferred,” he added.

Elaborating on the process, Agarwal announced that from November 4, door-to-door surveys would begin across Bengal. “Enumeration forms will be distributed door-to-door. The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will go door-to-door to collect the information. All data will be available on the BLOs' app, and it will be compared with the voter list from 2002. Based on that, the SIR will be issued. Each voter will receive a unique QR code,” he explained.

Agarwal also reassured that if a person's parent's name appeared in the voter list from 2002, there would be no reason for concern. However, if anyone's name is missing from the updated list after the revision, a notice will be issued, and a hearing will be held to address the issue.

To assist with any confusion, the CEO confirmed that a help desk would be set up in each district to resolve queries related to the revision process.