Archive · 29 Dec 2025
EC Halts Bengal Voter Hearings Over 2002 Rolls Issue
The Election Commission in West Bengal has stopped calling voters for hearings if they are marked as 'unmapped' in the system due to a problem with old voter lists from 2002.
This happened because the old lists were not properly converted into a digital format, causing some voters to be incorrectly flagged.
Instead of calling these voters for hearings, officials will check the old lists and verify the information.
Additionally, the Election Commission has decided to accept citizenship certificates issued under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as proof for voter registration, which will help the Matua community in West Bengal who previously struggled to get their names on the voter list.
The BJP supports this move, while the TMC questions its significance.
The Election Commission halted hearings for voters marked as 'unmapped' due to technical issues with the 2002 electoral rolls.
The issue arose from incomplete conversion of the 2002 rolls from PDF to CSV format, leading to linkage failures in the BLO app.
Voters with valid linkages in the hard copy of the 2002 rolls will not be called for hearings, and notices should be retained by electoral officers.
The ECI has accepted CAA certificates as valid documentation for voter registration, benefiting the Matua community in West Bengal.
The BJP supports the move, while the TMC questions its significance.
- Who
- Election Commission of India (ECI) and West Bengal district election officials
- What
- Halted hearings for 'unmapped' voters due to technical issues with 2002 electoral rolls and accepted CAA certificates for voter registration
- When
- During the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise
- Where
- West Bengal, India
- Why
- To ensure accuracy of electoral rolls and address technical limitations in legacy data integration
- Issue
- Incomplete conversion of 2002 electoral rolls from PDF to CSV format
- Affected Voters
- Voters marked as 'unmapped' in the BLO app due to technical issues
- Directive
- Hearing notices for 'unmapped' voters should not be served
- Verification Process
- Extracts of 2002 rolls to be verified by DEOs
- Field Verification
- BLOs may be deputed for field verification and photographing electors
- CAA Benefit
- CAA certificates accepted as valid documentation for voter registration
- Matuas Community
- Matuas can use CAA certificates to apply for voter inclusion
- BJP Support
- BJP supports the move, citing it as a victory for refugee rights
