Thousands of Bengal residents robbed of voting rights, poll officials remain 'clueless'
Telegraph | 1 April 2026
A little over three weeks left for the elections, thousands of Bengal residents have been robbed of their voting rights, and no one knows whom to approach.
Conversations with officials conducting elections in the state suggested they were just as clueless.
Booth-level officers (BLOs), who have been the only point of contact for voters since the SIR began in October, also don’t have clarity.
“We have not received any communication from the electoral registration officers (EROs) or assistant EROs regarding the appeals process. They were the ones who used to communicate instructions to us earlier,” said a BLO in north Calcutta. “There was no training on what we should tell voters whose names were deleted after adjudication. We have been kept completely in the dark.”
The lack of clarity has created confusion and heightened anxiety among voters.
Over the past two days, Metro spoke with district election officers (DEOs) and officials at the office of Bengal’s chief electoral officer (CEO), most of whom said they were still awaiting instructions.
DEOs, who are also district magistrates (DMs), are on deputation to the EC and are among the senior-most officials conducting elections in the state.
“We are yet to receive any instructions from the EC. But as I understand it, deleted voters have to appeal to the tribunal because these tribunals were set up on instructions of the Supreme Court for voters deleted during adjudication,” said a DEO.
An official at the Bengal CEO’s office also said deleted voters should approach the tribunals, and not submit Form 6, meant for the inclusion of new voters.
However, these instructions were not communicated to the BLOs. “Initially, I had advised voters whose names were deleted during adjudication to file a Form 6, because this is what we had instructed for voters removed erroneously from the rolls published on February 28. Later, I learned through newspaper reports that Form 6 would not work for them,” said the BLO.
Even DEOs remain unclear on whether deleted voters will have the opportunity to present their case before tribunals composed of retired high court judges. “We have no information on this,” a DEO said.
Several voters said they did not know how to appeal to the tribunals.
Filing appeals
According to poll panel sources, there are two options: filing an online application or submitting a written appeal.
Online applications can be submitted through the website https://voters.eci.gov.in. On the homepage, at the extreme right, voters will find the option “Submit appeal for individuals (under adjudication)”.
Written appeals can be submitted to the DEO or the sub-divisional officer (SDO). Officials advised voters to obtain a receipt or acknowledgment copy for written submissions.
For residents in Calcutta, Salt Lake, New Town and Howrah, the office to submit written appeals varies according to the voter’s constituency: