The Election Commission of India (EC) has initiated a detailed scrutiny of 2,208 polling booths across West Bengal. This action comes after the commission identified these specific stations as having achieved a 100% digitisation rate for all Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR) forms, with zero forms marked as 'uncollectable'. The EC has demanded comprehensive reports from these booths by 10 am on Tuesday.
Unprecedented 100% Digitisation Raises Eyebrows
As the mammoth task of digitising voter enumeration forms nears completion, the EC's internal system flagged a total of 7,844 polling stations where the digitisation process was finished with between zero and ten 'uncollectable' forms. From this larger group, the commission singled out 2,208 booths for special attention because they reported having absolutely zero uncollectable forms.
An 'uncollectable' form typically pertains to voters who are deceased, have permanently relocated, are untraceable, or are duplicate entries. The complete absence of such cases in over two thousand booths has been deemed "very unnatural" by a senior EC official. Consequently, the EC has ordered a re-verification of the entire SIR exercise in these locations.
Strict Deadline for District Officials
The commission has issued a strict 24-hour directive to the District Election Officers (DEOs), who also serve as District Magistrates. For the 2,208 booths under the scanner, reports must be signed by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and countersigned by the DEOs before the Tuesday morning deadline. These reports are to be submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, who will then forward them to the EC headquarters at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi.
For the remaining 5,636 polling stations where the number of uncollectable forms ranged from one to ten, the EC has also sought explanatory reports from the DEOs by Tuesday. The instruction is clear: officials must thoroughly recheck the SIR data collection and digitisation process in all identified booths.
District-Wise Breakdown of Flagged Booths
The distribution of the 2,208 booths with zero uncollectable forms varies significantly across districts:
- South 24 Parganas leads with the highest number at 760 booths.
- It is followed by Purulia (228), Murshidabad (226), Malda (216), Nadia (130), and Bankura (101).
- Other districts include Howrah (94), North 24 Parganas (82), Hooghly (54), and Kolkata North (1).
- Notably, no polling booth in Kolkata South has been identified with this anomaly so far.
Regarding the other 5,636 booths, the data shows a gradual spread: 542 stations had just one uncollectable form, 420 had two, 372 had three, while 374 and 481 stations had four and five such forms, respectively.
Ensuring Electoral Integrity
This move by the Election Commission underscores its commitment to maintaining a clean and accurate electoral roll ahead of future polls. By investigating areas with statistically unusual data patterns, the EC aims to eliminate any discrepancies and ensure the integrity of the voter list. The swift action and tight deadline reflect the commission's proactive approach to addressing potential irregularities in the foundational process of voter enumeration.
