The Election Commission (EC) is facing scrutiny over errors detected during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, including instances of one man being listed as the father of 389 voters and another as the father of 310. These discrepancies, unearthed during progeny-mapping exercises, have raised concerns about the integrity of the voter list and the processes employed during the SIR.
The SIR process involves identifying new voters based on the names of parents or relatives, but the effort has been plagued by irregularities stemming from a faulty 2002 voter list. Besides the bizarre instances of individuals with an implausible number of offspring, the EC has found that the names of fathers of 85.01 lakh voters are either incorrect or mismatched. Other "logical discrepancies" include over 24 lakh voters recorded as having more than six children and over 11 lakh cases where the age gap between parents is less than 15 years.
These errors have triggered widespread hardship, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that AI-driven digitization errors in the 2002 electoral rolls are causing significant issues for genuine voters. Banerjee has written to the Chief Election Commissioner, accusing the EC of disregarding established processes and forcing voters to re-verify their identities. She claims the SIR hearing process has become overly mechanical and undermines democratic principles.
The Supreme Court has also weighed in, criticizing the EC for the "stress and strain" caused to the people of West Bengal through the SIR exercise. The court has directed the EC to display the names of individuals flagged for "logical discrepancies" at gram panchayat, block, and ward offices. This directive aims to increase transparency and allow affected individuals to submit documents or objections through authorized representatives. The Supreme Court has instructed the ECI to publicly disclose the names of nearly 1.25 crore voters in West Bengal who have been marked for discrepancies during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the states electoral rolls.
Adding to the controversy, there are allegations that the Election Commission's top officer in West Bengal sent instructions to state officials via WhatsApp, altering the rules of the SIR process. Some of these instructions allegedly contradicted written orders from the EC.
Initially, the EC identified approximately 1.4 crore voters with logical discrepancies. This number has fluctuated as the EC continues to scrutinize the data. While the EC is working to rectify errors, the scale of the problem and the methods employed have drawn criticism from political leaders and the courts. The Election Commission is keen on reducing the number of hearings related to logical discrepancies and has instructed Block Level Officers (BLOs) to correct spelling mistakes in the draft Special Intensive Revision (SIR) roll to prevent voters from being summoned for hearings. The commission has identified around 12 to 13 lakh cases involving spelling errors in the names of fathers.
