From tea stalls to WA groups, SIR tension for voters ahead of big day

Kolkata: A day before the publication of the final list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, anxiety and tension ran riot among thousands of people in and around the city over the retention of their voting rights. From tea stalls to WhatsApp groups, discussions, especially among those who attended hearings to prove their citizenship, ostensibly shifted to anxiety about whether their names would feature on the list slated to be published on Saturday.

An IT firm employee at Sector V said, "Today, our discussions at the tea stall outside office revolved around our anxiety about whether I would make it to the 2026 roll. I had to appear for a hearing because of the Mukherjee and Mukhopadhyay discrepancy."


The draft list published in Dec excluded nearly 58 lakh names across the state, triggering widespread concern. Subsequently, more than 1.5 crore people were called for hearings to address what officials termed "logical discrepancies".

BLOs and BLAs were flooded with queries from these anxious people 24 hours before the publication of the final list. A BLO in Garfa said, "The queries mostly came from those who had document trouble during the hearing and needed domicile certificates. Till evening, I had no idea about the time or the place where people can throng to check their names on the list."

Another BLO in central Kolkata said, "We were in contact with people during the entire process. We assured them that their names would not be struck off if their documents were in order. Tomorrow, if people do not find their names on the list, they will call us as they have our numbers."

"I was called for the hearing and the officials asked for several documents. Now that the list is due for publication on Saturday, I am anxious about what will happen. I don't know if I will have to prepare for another battle after the list publication," said Anil Singh, a resident of ward 45 in India Exchange Place.

Arindam Ghosh, a Joka resident, made up his mind to keep checking the CEO website every hour since he did not know the time when the final list would be visible. He said, "I will be checking the CEO website every hour. I asked both my BLO and BLA to help, as 3 of my family members had to go to hearings. I am keeping my fingers crossed." He added, "Our BLA told us that even if our names appear tomorrow, we must look for the ‘Approved' tag. If it says ‘Adjudication,' we can't vote yet."

At Salt Lake, Jumpa Sarkar stated that the family WhatsApp groups buzzed with queries about how to check the final list. "We are sharing all verified links and are trying to share the names of respective BLOs too," said Sarkar.

Several NGOs and civil society groups that assisted residents through the process appealed to people to carefully check the list once it was released. Many religious heads also urged people during Friday prayers to carefully look for their names in the final list. "People must carefully look for their names in the final list once it is published. If they face any difficulty in accessing it, they must get in touch with their local representatives," said Ramiz Raja Baig, who runs an NGO helping people in the Kidderpore in the SIR process.

"Many people from our ward were called for hearings even when their names were on the draft roll and their parents' names were in 2002 rolls. We will be scanning the list to ensure that everybody's name remains there," said Neeraj Goenka, BLA 2 in ward 44 under Chowringhee constituency.