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EC data reveals that across India, only 89 appeals were filed and all of these were from Maharashtra
EC sources said there is a robust and transparent process in place for addition and deletion of voters in the list. (PTI)
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday met and wrote to the Election Commission of India raising the issue of “fraud in voter identities”. However, data from EC, seen by News18, shows that when the latest electoral roll was published in January, there were no appeals from West Bengal, despite the fact that the TMC has raised the issue multiple times in the last few weeks.
It is worth mentioning that apart from the continuous updation of electoral rolls, every year, the commission conducts Annual Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise to purify the rolls.
The process takes place between October and December every year, with publication of final rolls in January. The schedule for the latest SSR was issued in August 2024 and the final rolls were published in January 2025. However, across India, only 89 appeals were filed and all of these were from Maharashtra. That means no individual or political party in any other state filed any complaint regarding issues in the roll.
WHAT HAS TMC SAID?
On Friday, a delegation of TMC MPs met the commission, demanding answers on why they are pushing for Aadhaar-EPIC linkage without first addressing the glaring fraud in voter identities. The party raised a series of questions, including how many voter identities have actually been verified, why hasn’t EC explicitly stated that Aadhaar seeding is voluntary and why did EC fail to amend Form 6B despite its Supreme Court undertaking.
WHAT EC SAYS
When asked about these allegations, sources in EC told News18 that the poll body is legally bound to suitably modify Form 6B of the Registration of Elector Rules, 1960, in line with the orders of the Supreme Court and Section 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the Representation of People Act, 1950.
Last month, EC had said it decided that the linking of Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) with Aadhaar will be done only as per the provisions of Article 326 of the Constitution, Section 23(4), 23(5) and 23(6) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and in line with the Supreme Court judgment in WP (civil) No. 177/2023.
Sources also explained that there is a robust and transparent process in place for addition and deletion of voters in the list.
“The roll is verified at various points and political parties were given data and time to raise issues but, across India, only 89 objections were raised and all these were from Maharashtra. Only one second appeal was filed,” sources said, adding that this is not even one per cent of the 99 crore registered electors in India.
PROCESS OF SSR
The official explained that every year, when the revision of the electoral roll takes place, at every booth, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) is appointed by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) from amongst the officials of the state government.
Political parties also have the right to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) at every booth. These agents have the right to verify the electoral roll of the booth concerned and raise a complaint for anomaly, if any.
The BLOs conduct house-to-house field verification and submit the recommendations to the respective EROs.
The ERO verifies the details of each elector for updation of electoral rolls and goes ahead for the draft electoral rolls which are published on the website and also made available to political parties and the public.
A month’s time is given for the verification of the draft electoral rolls. The political parties and public can raise claims and objections during the 30-day period. Final rolls are published and made available to political parties.
During the period of revision, anyone can file an appeal or objections. The first appeal is made to the DM/District Collector/Executive Magistrate under section 24(a) of RP Act 1950.
Even if the person is not satisfied with the decision of the first appellate authority, they can raise a second appeal to the Chief Electoral Officer of the state/UT concerned under section 24(b) of RP Act 1950.
As per EC data, there are 99.22 crore registered voters in India as of January 2025. A total of 10.49 lakh BLOs and 13.87 lakh BLAs were involved in the process across India. In West Bengal, there were 7.65 crore electors as of January 2025. Close to 80,500 BLOs and 1.75 BLAs from various parties were involved in the SSR process, EC data showed.
