Kolkata, 18 December (H.S.) : The Election Commission on Thursday commenced sending notices to voters for upcoming hearings. According to Commission sources, 30,59,273 voters who could not be linked to the state’s electoral rolls following the 2002 voter verification (Special Summary Revision, SSR) have been placed in the ‘No Mapping’ category. All these voters will receive notices, and they will have seven days from receipt to present their case during the hearings. The notices also specify the date and venue of the hearing.

Apart from the ‘No Mapping’ category, the Commission has flagged approximately 1.36 crore voters whose data appears suspicious. While these names are included in the 2026 draft electoral rolls, the information provided in their enumeration forms is considered doubtful. In such cases, verification will be conducted by Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Only those voters whose issues remain unresolved after verification will be called for hearings.

In the initial phase, notices are expected to be issued to around 32 lakh unmapped voters. This includes those whose names were missing in the 2002 SSR but appear in the 2026 draft list.

Official sources clarified, “Inclusion in the draft list does not exempt a voter from being called for hearings. However, the process for such cases may be relatively straightforward. EROs have begun issuing notices from December 18. Two copies of the notice will be provided: one to the voter and another, signed by the voter, to be retained by the Booth Level Officer (BLO). Voters will be given adequate time to attend the hearings, which are expected to start soon.”

The exercise aims to ensure the accuracy of the electoral rolls and to verify the data of voters with inconsistent or suspicious information.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh