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New Delhi: The Election Commission on Thursday said that nearly 26 lakh voters' names in the current electoral rolls are not matching with the 2002 list in the state. The discrepancy came to light, when the state's voter list was compared with the list from across the all states of the country, which was prepared in 2002 and 2006, during the last SIR exercise in the country.
An official from the Election Commission was quoted as saying that they had digitised more than 60 million enumeration forms in West Bengal, under the current SIR exercise.
A senior EC official quoted by PTI said, "Once digitised, these forms are brought under the mapping procedure, where they are matched against the previous SIR records. Initial findings show that the names of around 26 lakh voters in West Bengal cannot yet be reconciled with the data from the last SIR cycle."
The Commission said that West Bengal needed to add names of voters who might have entered the state from other neighbouring states. They said that if some voters from other parts of the country had migrated to West Bengal along with their families, the state (West Bengal) needed to map their details even if their earlier records belong to another state.
As of now 26 lakh voters' names remain unmatched, when the voter list of West Bengal is matched with the list from other states of the country, according to the Commission.
This figure may go up, said the official. This would happen as digitisation continues in the state.
The SIR mapping process examines both the list and checks whether the names of any current voter appears in the earlier SIR record. If the name is found, the voter does not need a separate verification.
This year, the mapping exercise has also taken into account voter lists from other states. This would ensure more comprehensive and accurate verification of voters in the state.
The voters whose names appear in the earlier voter lits, need not provide any separate identification document. They simply need to fill the enumeration form provided by the Commission and their names will be added as voters this year.
But those whose names do not appear in the previous voters list, will need to get a document-based verification, to confirm their identity and eligibility.
