EC turns down Bengal request to use Swasthya Sathi for SIR
Times of India | 12 September 2025
Kolkata: The
(EC) on Thursday turned down the Bengal govt's proposal to include Swasthya Sathi and ration cards as proofs of identity for the special intensive revision (SIR) of the state's voter roll.
An EC official said the poll panel had already brought out documents that will be accepted for SIR, while maintaining that the list was subject to revision.
The state govt had argued that since state authorities vet residents before issuing Swasthya Sathi cards, the same could be used as proof of citizenship while preparing the voter list, according to the EC official.
The commission, rejecting the proposal, argued that a uniform rule had been made for all states and an exception could not be made for Bengal, sources said.
The EC is scheduled to send a team to Bengal on Sept 18 to check state officials' readiness for SIR. Sources said, the team, likely to be led by deputy election commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, will compare samples of the voter list from the 2002 SIR with that of the 2024 list that was used for Lok Sabha polls.
Bharti is also expected to inspect new booths being set up in Bengal. The state is likely to have 14,000 new booths in the May 2026 assembly elections, bringing the total to 94,000.