In a major embarrassment for the state election machinery ahead of the Special Summary Revision (SIR), the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office has summoned two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) over the alleged inclusion of fake names in the voter list. The move comes after the detection of non-existent voters being registered online using fraudulent documents.
The two officials under scrutiny are the EROs of Nandakumar in East Midnapore and Rajarhat-Gopalpur in North 24 Parganas. According to sources in the CEO’s office, both EROs have admitted to serious lapses — 59 fake entries in Nandakumar and 43 in Rajarhat-Gopalpur — during intense questioning.
“An internal inquiry revealed that data entry operators had directly inserted the names into the electoral rolls using unclear Aadhaar and PAN cards as supporting documents. These fake records were uncovered during the commission's routine scrutiny of the voter list, prompting immediate action,” said an official of the election commission.
Sources in the CEO’s office said the mandatory field verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) was completely bypassed. In fact, the BLOs were never sent to verify the addresses or credentials of these so-called voters.
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Officials now believe that the EROs had handed over their login credentials to private agencies responsible for deploying the data entry operators— an act that could amount to a serious breach of official protocol.
“We suspect the direct involvement of both EROs in this manipulation,” a senior official in the CEO’s office confirmed, adding, “An FIR will be lodged against the data entry operators and the agencies that recruited them will be blacklisted. Disciplinary action will also be taken against the EROs for dereliction of duty.”
This is not the first instance of such electoral fraud in the state. Earlier, EROs from Maina in East Midnapore and Baruipur East in South 24 Parganas faced legal consequences for similar offenses. Another similar incident was recently reported in Kakdwip.
“The repetition of such irregularities has raised serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral roll preparation process,” said the officer of the commission, admitting, "The investigation has also highlighted a growing mismatch between reports submitted by BLOs and those approved by higher authorities. In several constituencies, an average of 100 voter names are being registered online per hour— many of which are later discovered to be fake.
A top official in the CEO’s office stated, “Our goal is not just to punish, but to identify loopholes and reinforce a system that ensures transparency and impartiality. A credible voter list is the foundation of a free and fair election and we will not tolerate any attempt to undermine it.”
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