Hit by a barrage of queries, complaints and criticisms, the Election Commission on Friday introduced a new website ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in for the electors in Bengal to verify their or their parents names in the electoral rolls from 23 years ago.

The EC announced the special intensive revision for Bengal, where the Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in the summer of 2026, on Monday. The last such large-scale exercise in Bengal had happened in 2002.

Under the rules devised by the EC voters whose names or their parents names are found in the 2002 list would not have to submit any fresh documents with the election office for fresh inclusion in the electoral rolls. The 2002 voter list has assumed fresh importance as the EC undertakes the SIR exercise across Bengal, covering nearly 7.62 crore voters, ahead of next summer’s Assembly elections. In 2002, there were around 4.58 crore voters in Bengal.

Since the announcement thousands of voters attempted to verify their names in the list which for many was inaccessible.

Users across the state reported repeated “HTTP Error 404” and “Service Unavailable” messages while attempting to access the rolls. The site occasionally opened on some devices but remained erratic overall.

According to the Election Commission, the server crash occurred due to an unexpected surge in traffic, with thousands attempting to access the site simultaneously.

The EC clarified that data migration from the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which remains under the central government, to the State Data Centre was also underway, causing temporary disruptions.

The Commission has now assured that the new website is fully operational and allows voters to view PDFs of the 2002 electoral rolls.

“Too many people were trying to log in at once. Work is ongoing to strengthen the servers,” an EC official said, adding that the new link should resolve most issues. A helpline (1800-11-1950) has also been launched, though many callers reported long waits.

Since the SIR was announced two persons died by suicide while a third survived. The decision has created panic among the voters as there is a genuine fear of being disenfranchised or losing other rights if the name is not found in the list.

The ruling Trinamool has blamed the BJP’s “politics of fear” for the distress.

Voters who managed to access the list have faced another challenge: tracing names from a pre-delimitation era.

With constituency and booth boundaries redrawn after the delimitation exercise - once in 2008 and a limited one in 2015-16, several electors have struggled to locate their polling stations.

The EC has maintained that there is no cause for concern and that all eligible voters will have opportunities to verify and update their details during the ongoing SIR process.