West Bengal has officially started the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls from Tuesday, with over 80,000 Booth-Level Officers beginning door-to-door surveys across the state. The Election Commission compared the 2025 voters' list with the 2002 list, when the last SIR was conducted in the state. Out of 7,66,37,529 voters registered in 2025, only 2,45,71,114 names matched with the 2002 records, representing just 32.06 per cent. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal distributed enumeration forms to 80,681 BLOs on Monday, with an additional 14,000 BLOs deployed for support. Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharati will visit the state from November 5 to 8 to review the SIR rollout, inspecting districts including Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri. This matching-mapping process aims to provide clarity during the enumeration exercise.
South Kolkata and Howrah Record Lowest Name Matching Rates
Three districts showed the lowest percentage of matching names between the 2002 and 2025 voter lists. South Kolkata recorded only 35 per cent match, Howrah had 38 per cent, and Paschim Bardhaman registered 31 per cent. In contrast, Bankura district achieved the highest matching rate at 79 per cent, followed by Purba Bardhaman with 73 per cent, Kalimpong at 65 per cent, and Purulia at 63 per cent. Border districts along Bangladesh showed moderate matching rates, with Murshidabad at 56 per cent, Malda at 54 per cent, South 24 Parganas at 45 per cent, and North 24 Parganas at 41 per cent. Figures for Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri were unavailable due to recent floods and landslides.
Source: Link