Confusion clouds West Bengal SIR appeals as EC portal goes live without clear offline roadmap

The Election Commission of India’s portal for voters in West Bengal to appeal against their exclusion from supplementary electoral rolls went live on Sunday, Times of India reported, but a lack of clarity around the offline process has triggered widespread concern, raising fears that many could be effectively shut out of the system.

While the Commission has enabled online appeals, officials concede that the absence of a clearly defined offline mechanism could disadvantage large sections of voters who lack digital access or familiarity with technology.

Also Read: EC releases third supplementary voter list in West Bengal


To handle the expected influx of cases, 19 judicial tribunals have been set up. However, confusion persists over timelines. Each supplementary list carries a note stating that appeals must be filed within a fortnight, but the EC has not clarified when this period begins.

An official notification says voters can submit offline appeals at district magistrate (DM), sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) or sub-divisional officer (SDO) offices, which will then upload the applications “at the earliest”. Yet, it offers little detail beyond that—failing to specify timelines, procedural steps or even which offices will be designated to process such applications.

For many voters, the uncertainty is already taking a toll.

“I don't know anything about technology to file an appeal online by myself. And we are yet to know when the offline mode will be activated. I am in touch with our BLO, who has asked me to keep all documents ready,” said Rojina Khatun from East Burdwan, echoing the anxiety among thousands awaiting clarity.

Others have begun making trips to government offices in search of answers. Md Nazrul Islam from Murshidabad said he visited the district magistrate’s office to understand the process, while Md Jomadar Sheikh of Dhulian said his only hope now lay with the judicial tribunal route. In another case, Jahima Khatun’s name was struck off the rolls due to a misspelling of her father’s name in official records.

Also Read: Mamata Banerjee alleges 'conspiracy', counters BJP 'charge sheet'

The burden of managing this uncertainty has also fallen on booth-level officers (BLOs), who say they are fielding a surge in queries.

“I received multiple calls from voters who wanted to know how to file an appeal,” said Bappaditya Guha, a BLO in Jorasanko. “The names of 46 people in the 'part' assigned to me have been deleted. I followed all instructions from EC and uploaded voters' documents on the BLO app. We are answerable to the voters; they trusted us and gave us their documents.”

The Commission on Sunday released its fourth supplementary list, adding around two lakh names from the nearly 60 lakh cases that had been under judicial scrutiny. Of the 40 lakh cases already disposed of, roughly 18 lakh have been rejected.

Even as the process moves forward, the lack of procedural clarity—particularly for offline appeals—continues to cast a shadow over what is meant to be a corrective exercise, leaving many voters uncertain about whether they will be able to reclaim their place on the rolls in time.