Relief for over 41 lakh electors as ‘logical discrepancy’ number dips
Times of India | 7 January 2026
Kolkata: The EC has granted a waiver to more than 41.5 lakh voters with minor discrepancies in electoral records.
Around 1.3 crore voters in Bengal had SIR enumeration forms with "logical discrepancies" due to a small age difference with their parents or grandparents, as well as gender discrepancies. This figure has now been reduced to 94.5 lakh. The EC will now send notices to these 94.5 lakh voters, providing relief to more than 41 lakh voters.
An EC official said there were many mismatches, ranging from date of birth to differences in fathers' names. In many cases, the documents provided did not match, so officials were asked to re-verify the details to ensure no one is harassed.
Most mismatches were found in parents' names, and re-verification has resulted in this relief. Many people had "Kumar" or "Lal" as middle names, but omitted them while filling out the enumeration form. Subrata Gupta, special observer, said such minor mismatches were understood, and voters who were summoned were given a waiver. Many voters also wrote their names with different spellings, which brought them under scrutiny.
An official said there were also errors while uploading names in the BLO app, and BLOs have been asked to rectify mistakes where the error was on their part.
After re-verification, more than 40 lakh voters have been given relief. Discrepancies were also identified in cases involving people shown as fathers of more than six children. It was found that many people were listed as parents without their knowledge — the figure under scrutiny was 24 lakh.
In the bordering districts in particular, cases of fake fathers' names were detected, an EC official said. He added that some Bangladeshi citizens who entered India had shown Indian citizens as their parents, and BLO verification found these claims to be false.
Cases involving parents with an age difference of over 50 years were estimated at 8.7 lakh. Discrepancies involving grandparents, where the age difference was less than 40 years, were recorded in 3.2 lakh cases. The cases were rechecked, and in some instances genuine voters were found to have an age difference of over 50 years with their fathers. In a few cases, the age gap between voters and their grandparents was found to be 40 years, but in several cases a second round of verification is ongoing, as the EC does not want any anomalies.
A gender mismatch was reported for 13 lakh voters. In all mismatch cases, voters concerned are to be issued notices and are required to present documents before the Electoral Registration Officer. However, most sex-mismatch cases were due to errors, which were understood, and most of those voters received a waiver from appearing at the hearing where the mistake was on the EC's part.
Separately, more than 20 lakh electors who were over 45 years old were found not to have been enrolled earlier. Due to jobs, many had been staying away from home and did not get the opportunity to enrol in their home constituency. Now, as the SIR requires everyone to fill out the enrolment form, many of these migrants have been found to have submitted forms.