Many voters whose names appear on the draft electoral roll are now receiving calls from booth-level officers (BLOs) regarding discrepancies in the spelling of their parents’ or grandparents’ names compared with the 2002 electoral roll.
A man from Kasba, a woman from Shyampukur, and another man from Behala told Metro that they were contacted by their respective BLOs. The Kasba voter said the officer mentioned that over 60 voters in his area of the Kasba Assembly constituency faced similar issues.
Anxious, all three asked whether they would have to appear for a hearing. The BLOs could not guarantee that a hearing would be avoided but said providing a document proving the relationship with the relative listed in 2002 would likely resolve the issue.
“My BLO asked for a document showing my name and my father’s name with the correct spelling, the one I used while filling out the enumeration form. I submitted my PAN card,” said the Shyampukur woman.
“I am a little worried whether my name will be deleted due to the mismatch. I felt assured when my name appeared in the draft roll, but I don’t know if it will go missing from the final roll,” she added.
The men from Kasba and Behala said they provided photocopies of their passports.
The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on February 14.
Voters whose relatives’ names did not appear in the 2002 list were required to provide the details of a parent or grandparent whose name was on the list. While filling out the enumeration form, many voters wrote the correct spelling of their relative’s name, even if the 2002 roll contained errors. In some cases, voters included middle names that were missing in the older list.
The 2002 voter list is being used as a reference because it was the last time a special intensive revision (SIR) was conducted in Bengal.
Subrata Gupta, the special roll observer for the ongoing SIR in Bengal, told Metro that BLOs will upload the documents provided by voters into an app on their mobile phones. The electoral registration officer (ERO) will then review the uploaded documents. “If the ERO is satisfied with the document, the voter will not be asked to appear in a hearing. If there are still doubts about the voter’s identity, a hearing notice may be issued. This is usually for clerical or technical errors like spelling mismatches,” he said.
He added that all voters will have the opportunity to prove their identity if required. Even after the final roll is published, they can request to add their names if they were missed due to any error. “Substantial time will be provided to add names before the elections,” Gupta said.