Booth Level Officers To Revisit Homes Of Voters Excluded During Bengal SIR

The Election Commission has directed Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to visit the homes of voters whose names were deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). This special drive aims to identify voters excluded during the SIR and assist them in updating their status in the current electoral roll.

The SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal officially began on December 27, 2025, and the final list was published on February 28, 2026. The three-month process relied heavily on the efforts of local BLOs.

Ataur Rahaman, a school teacher from East Midnapore's Kanthi who also serves as a BLO, told NDTV, "We haven't received any official government orders so far. However, we are learning from media reports that deleted and under-adjudication voters are to be re-identified by us. If such an order comes, we will comply. I did this during the previous SIR exercise and have direct connections with every household in my area."

"The process of revisiting households has just begun, and we aren't feeling any pressure as of now. We will have to see how it goes. During the SIR, we were under tremendous pressure," said Deepa Chowdhary, a BLO from Chandannagar in Hooghly district.

"As of now, we have not received fresh orders from the District Officer and are waiting for them. What I think is that revisiting voters this time won't be too problematic, as the most difficult half of the job has already been completed," said Sandip Sarkar from Islampur in North Dinajpur district.

BLOs will once again conduct door-to-door visits. The special drive has already commenced in states where the SIR process has been completed, with the Commission issuing instructions to Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) across 20 such states.