Is Bengal SIR Completing 99% Digitisation of Enumeration Forms? Nearly 53 Lakh to be Excluded!
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Almost 99% of digitisation of enumeration forms completed.
- About 53 lakh voters identified for exclusion.
- Significant drop in booths without deceased or duplicate voters.
- Election Commission emphasizes accuracy in voter data.
- Proactive measures taken against erroneous data uploads.
Kolkata, Dec 5 (NationPress) Nearly 99 percent of the digitisation process for enumeration forms gathered from voters by booth-level officers (BLOs) during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal has been finalized. The current count of voters identified for exclusion from the existing voters' list stands at approximately 53 lakh.
As of Thursday evening, 98.84 percent of the filled enumeration forms collected from voters had been digitized, revealing that 52,99,663 voters are deemed eligible for exclusion based on the digitization trend.
Sources from the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office in West Bengal indicate that out of the 52,99,663 voters identified for exclusion by Thursday evening, 23,48,095 are deceased.
Furthermore, the number of voters who have moved from one location to another is 18,55,302.
The count of untraceable voters stands at 9,42,162, while the number of duplicate voters, those with names listed in two locations, is 1,22,303.
“The remaining 31,801 voters are excluded for various other reasons,” stated an insider from the CEO's office.
The number of booths in West Bengal without any deceased, duplicate, or shifted voters has significantly decreased to just seven as of Thursday.
This represents a dramatic drop from 2,208 reported on Monday, decreasing to 480 on Tuesday and further to 29 by Wednesday.
The seven booths without any deceased or duplicate voters are located in Malda, Jalpaiguri, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, West Midnapore, and Purulia.
Initially, the data released on Monday indicated 2,208 such booths, with South 24 Parganas having the highest count of 760.
By Thursday evening, this number dropped to just one. The statistics have been changing daily as the Election Commission of India (ECI) continues to urge District Magistrates and Electoral Officers for reevaluations of these booths.
On Thursday, the ECI, via the CEO's office, warned BLOs involved in the ongoing SIR process of potential disciplinary actions should any “deliberate” errors in voters’ data uploads be identified.
The CEO's office reminded BLOs that, as they are currently on deputation to the ECI for the SIR process, the commission holds full authority to impose disciplinary measures in cases of intentional or negligent errors.