In a startling development, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has identified three polling booths in West Bengal where not a single voter qualifies as a “self” voter in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Under the SIR process, a “self” voter is someone whose name appeared in the 2002 voters’ list — the base year for this revision. A “progeny” voter is one whose parents’ names were present on the 2002 roll. The unusual discovery of booths comprising 100 per cent ‘progeny’ voters has prompted the ECI to order an immediate review.
Three Booths Under Scrutiny
According to officials in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, the booths flagged are:
- Part No. 110, Dinhata Assembly constituency (Cooch Behar): All 782 voters are progeny voters.
- Part No. 53, Pandua Assembly constituency (Hooghly): All 668 voters fall under the progeny category.
- Part No. 48, Kultali Assembly constituency (South 24 Parganas): All 768 voters are progeny voters.
The ECI considers it highly improbable for an entire booth to lack even a single self voter, raising concern about potential inaccuracies or procedural lapses.
ECI Orders Fresh Verification
Under SIR guidelines, both self and progeny voters are automatically treated as genuine and do not need to submit documents to retain their names. However, the ECI has expressed suspicion over the anomaly and has instructed a detailed verification of all three booths.
Officials said the Commission has also warned of strict disciplinary action if any manipulation or negligence by booth-level officers or registration officials comes to light.
Massive Correction in Booth Anomalies
Meanwhile, the number of polling booths earlier reported to have no deceased, duplicate, or shifted voters has drastically reduced. The figure, which stood at 2,208 on Monday, fell to 480 on Tuesday, and further dropped to just 29 by Wednesday evening, following extensive corrections and data verification.
