Election officials on Friday visited Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen’s residence in Bolpur, Birbhum district, to collect documents linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, a family member said.
The officials went to ‘Pratichi’, Sen’s ancestral home, and collected his Aadhaar card, voter identity card number, the death certificate of his mother, Amita Sen, and a letter authorising his cousin, Shantabhanu Sen, to appear for the SIR-related hearing on his behalf.
Sen is currently in the United States, where he serves as a Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University.
“The officials from the Election Commission collected Prof Sen's Aadhaar card, voter identity card number, and the death certificate of his mother, Amita Sen. They also took the letter in which Prof Sen authorised his cousin Shantabhanu to appear for the hearing,” a member of Sen’s family told PTI.
According to the family member, election officials did not respond when asked whether a photocopy of the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award conferred on Sen was also submitted as part of the electoral roll revision process.
Last week, the Election Commission issued a notice to Sen, seeking his presence for a hearing on January 16 at his Santiniketan residence in connection with the SIR of electoral rolls in the state.
An official from the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said the notice was issued after a discrepancy was found in Sen’s enumeration form, which listed him as linked to his mother, Amita Sen, despite an age difference of less than 15 years.
The CEO’s office said the form, submitted by a member of Sen’s family, was flagged by the ERO Net Portal.
“A notice was generated for Sen in line with other similar cases. Given that the elector is over 85 years old, ERO and AERO officials, along with the BLO, visited his residence and completed the formalities,” the CEO’s office said in a statement.
Sen was enrolled as a voter several years ago and cast his vote in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections at the Visva Bharati Staff Club polling station.
In the draft electoral list prepared under the 2026 SIR, his name appears as Part 274, Serial 169, under the Prabasi Bharatiya (non-resident) category.