Kolkata, 18 December (H.S.) : The Election Commission will start issuing notices to voters for hearings from Thursday as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Notices will be sent to 3,059,273 voters who have failed to establish any linkage with the 2002 electoral roll, the year when the last SIR was conducted in the state. These voters have been classified under the “no mapping” category.

According to Commission sources, each voter receiving a notice will be given seven days to respond. The notice will clearly mention the date, time and venue of the hearing. The objective is to allow voters adequate opportunity to present documents and clarify their eligibility.

Apart from the “no mapping” category, the Commission has expressed doubts about the credentials of over one crore voters whose names still appear in the draft electoral rolls. This group includes around 1.36 crore voters whose enumeration forms contain information that the Commission considers questionable. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct field verification of their details. Only those voters whose credentials remain doubtful even after this verification process will be summoned for hearings.

The Election Commission has announced that the final electoral roll will be published on Feb 14, while the hearing process will continue until Feb 7. Hearings will be conducted at multiple locations within each Assembly constituency to ensure accessibility. The Commission has already notified that 13 types of documents will be accepted as valid proof during the hearings. Voters listed as “no mapping” or under the doubtful category may be required to produce more than one document, if necessary.

Questions have also been raised about the fate of voters who are unable to appear on the scheduled date of hearing. Commission officials have clarified that voters may be granted additional time if they provide valid and convincing reasons for their absence. In a special provision, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, has proposed home hearings for voters aged above 85 years, and a formal proposal in this regard has been sent to the Election Commission.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh