A senior official in West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer's office stated that the second supplementary voter list under the SIR process is likely to be published by March 27 or 28. Around 36 lakh voter entries from the pending list have been disposed of so far.
A senior Election Commission official announced on Thursday that West Bengal's second supplementary electoral roll list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process is expected by Friday or Saturday evening. 'By Friday or Saturday evening, the second supplementary list may be released,' the official in the Chief Electoral Officer's office said, noting that it depends on resolving remaining entries received from various polling booths. Issues from the first supplementary list persist, including technical glitches and pending data from some booths. 'Lists that have been e-signed by courts have been uploaded. In some cases, there could be technical problems or glitches. Data from several booths is yet to be received,' the official added. The revision follows Supreme Court directions allowing voters excluded from rolls to appeal before a tribunal. No final decision has been made on when or where these tribunals will function, with the state government proposing four locations and the Calcutta High Court suggesting the Judicial Academy in New Town. The delay has raised concerns among stakeholders. The first supplementary list of 'Under Adjudication' voters was released on Monday, but the poll panel stayed silent on deletions or disposed cases, attracting criticism. Following the SIR enumeration, 58 lakh names were deleted, reducing eligible electors from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore due to deaths, migration, duplications, and untraceability. The post-SIR rolls published on February 28 further adjusted the figure to just over 7.04 crore, placing over 60 lakh names under judicial scrutiny.
