Mamata writes to CEC again, flags errors caused by 'AI-driven digitisation' of 2002 list

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Election Commission official Gyanesh Kumar, flagging what she described as serious procedural lapses in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, warning that these are leading to harassment of citizens, wrongful deletion of names and disenfranchisement of eligible voters.

In her January 12, 2026 letter, Banerjee said electors are submitting required documents during SIR hearings but, in many cases, are not being given proper acknowledgements. She alleged that at later stages, these documents are shown as “not found” or “not available on record,” and voters are removed from rolls on that basis, calling the process fundamentally flawed and driven by technicalities rather than reasoned decision-making.

The chief minister also raised concerns over digitisation of the 2002 electoral rolls, stating that manual lists, including vernacular scripts, were scanned and translated into English using AI tools. She said serious errors crept into names, age, sex and relationship details, leading to genuine voters being flagged for “logical discrepancies.”

Banerjee pointed out that over the past 23 years, many electors had already corrected such details through Form-8 and quasi-judicial hearings, with changes duly reflected in the 2025 electoral roll. She questioned why the process was being pushed back to 2002, asking whether this implied that all revisions carried out in the intervening years were being disregarded.

She further said even minor discrepancies, which could be resolved through desk-level verification, are resulting in hearing notices, despite earlier Commission directions limiting such notices. Calling the situation avoidable and arbitrary, Banerjee urged immediate intervention to end citizen hardship and safeguard democratic rights.