Alipurduar: The voter information slip issued by the Election Commission and distributed by booth-level officers (BLOs) ahead of the first-phase elections on April 23 has gained unexpected traction among voters across north Bengal as the new “vital document.”
From Friday, long queues were seen outside photocopy and stationery shops in Alipurduar, with residents arriving to laminate their voter slips.
Shopkeepers said they have been "unusually busy" laminating these slips as people are keen to preserve them. Many customers explained that since the EC issued this document, they consider it valuable proof of their identity as voters and want to preserve it for posterity.
On Saturday, Alipurduar resident Ratan Samanta visited a photocopy shop in the Chowpathi area with voter slips of all four members of his family. Reason? He wanted to get them laminated.
“After the SIR (special intensive revision) of the electoral roll, these slips are important. These are proofs that our names were included in the voter list in 2026 post-SIR. It’s like a certificate from the EC confirming we are valid voters,” said Samanta.
The SIR before this was held in 2002, and 2002 was considered the base year for the exercise now. A section of voters believes that possessing the slip would help them and their descendants when the SIR is conducted in the future, to prove that they were deemed valid voters in 2026.
“There is an apprehension that if a similar revision happens again after 10 or 20 years, people may be asked to prove that their names were part of the voter list in 2026. This slip could then serve as evidence,” said Samir Mitra, another resident of Alipurdur town.
“We don’t want to take chances. That's why we want to preserve the slip for ourselves and succeeding generations,” he added.
An observer pointed out that the slip issued this time included comprehensive voter data, ranging from the EPIC number to family details, the address of the booths, the booth number, and the serial number.
“Though all this information is available online, many people, especially the elderly, want to preserve the hard copy. The trend is more among those who attended hearings for not having names in the 2002 list and were then included in the electoral roll,” he said.
Subho Ghosh, who runs a photocopy shop in the town, said that the demand for lamination of the slips had surged after voting day.
“Since Friday, I'm busy laminating voter slips. People say any document issued by the EC should be preserved. It also shows how seriously people are taking the SIR process,” he said.