Kolkata, 13 August (H.S.) — A major discrepancy has surfaced in West Bengal’s electoral records as voter lists from 2002 for multiple assembly constituencies are reportedly missing. According to sources in the Election Commission, entire booth-wise voter rolls from that year have disappeared, raising concerns ahead of the upcoming special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
Officials confirmed that the voter list for the entire Kulpi Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district is untraceable. The Commission had directed that the 2002 electoral roll be used as the base document for the revision exercise. However, the absence of these records has prompted an urgent search.
The website of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for West Bengal had recently uploaded the 2002 rolls for public viewing, which first revealed the gaps. In addition to Kulpi, several booths across constituencies in Birbhum, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas are also missing from the database, according to sources.
As a fallback, officials have located the 2003 draft voter list — which was originally prepared using the 2002 records — to fill the gap. The CEO’s office has already apprised the Election Commission of the situation and sought permission to proceed using the 2003 draft rolls as a substitute.
Special intensive revisions are conducted by the Election Commission at regular intervals to update voter rolls. The last such exercise in West Bengal took place in 2002, while Bihar carried out its revision in 2003.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh