26 lakh voters' names in current Bengal electoral rolls not matching with 2002 list: EC

The Election Commission has reported that nearly 26 lakh voters' names in West Bengal's current electoral rolls did not match with the voter list of 2002, an official said.

The discrepancy emerged after the state's latest voter list was compared with lists prepared across different states between 2002 and 2006 during the previous SIR exercise, he said on Wednesday evening.

According to EC sources, more than six crore enumeration forms in West Bengal had been digitised by Wednesday afternoon under the ongoing SIR process.

"Once digitised, these forms are brought under the mapping procedure, where they are matched against the previous SIR records. Initial findings show that the names of around 26 lakh voters in the state cannot yet be reconciled with the data from the last SIR cycle," the official said.

He said that the figure may rise further as digitisation continues.

In the electoral context, "mapping" refers to cross-verifying the latest published voter list with the SIR rolls last compiled in 2002.

This year, the mapping exercise has also included voter lists from other states, a step taken by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer to ensure a more comprehensive and accurate verification process, he said.

However, a mismatch in mapping does not mean automatic removal from the final electoral roll, the official clarified.