DM holds all-party meeting on SIR, EROs changed in 4 constituencies
The Statesman | 1 November 2025
An all-party meeting was held in Asansol by the district magistrate of West Burdwan with representatives of all political parties recognised by the Election Commission of India.
According to sources in the district administration, West Burdwan has a total of 23,27,503 voters. Based on the 2002 voter list, only 35 per cent of names have matched in the ongoing mapping process so far.
Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are comparing the 2002 voter list with the 2025 one. Initial findings showed a 41 per cent match, but after verification through the BLO App, as per ECI guidelines, the confirmed mapping currently stands at 35 per cent.
District officials stated that the mapping work is still underway, and the final figure will be available upon completion.
The all-party meeting was held in the conference hall of the newly-built district magistrate’s office at Kalyanpur, Asansol, chaired by district magistrate S Ponnambalam. Representatives of recognised political parties, including Trinamul Congress, BJP, CPM and Congress, attended. The additional district magistrate (Election), OC (Election) and other election department officials were also present.
During the meeting, the DM briefed the party representatives on key aspects of the SIR process and explained in detail how the entire procedure would be conducted.
He informed that the Election Commission of India had already issued a notification, and the process had commenced in West Burdwan district. From 4 November to 4 December, BLOs will visit voters’ homes to distribute enumeration forms, which must be duly filled in by the voters. Thereafter, a draft electoral roll will be published.
The final voter list will be published on 7 February 2026.
He further mentioned that training for EROs (Electoral Registration Officers) and AEROs (Assistant Electoral Registration Officers) would begin shortly. Four Assembly constituencies in the district — Raniganj, Jamuria, Durgapur (East) and Durgapur (West) — have had new EROs appointed. Two of them have already joined duty, while the other two will take charge on Thursday. The OC (Election) has also been changed. Subsequently, the EROs of all constituencies will convene another all-party meeting.
After the meeting, Utpal Sen of the Trinamul Congress said: “We are keeping a close watch on the entire process. Since this district is primarily an industrial area, many people have migrated here from other places, while many have moved out. We raised such issues during the meeting.”
The district magistrate assured that there would be no problems and that everything would be conducted strictly according to the Election Commission’s directions.