SIR drive expands beyond polls: Bengal, Bihar to bar deleted names from welfare schemes

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — an Election Commission exercise aimed at removing dead, duplicate and ineligible voters — is now being used beyond elections, with BJP governments in West Bengal and Bihar linking welfare eligibility to revised voter lists.

Days after the BJP formed its first government in West Bengal under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the administration signalled that people whose names were deleted during the SIR process would not be eligible for several welfare schemes. A similar exercise is underway in Bihar, where the BJP-led NDA government has begun removing beneficiaries from ration lists after SIR deletions.

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said those whose names were removed from the state’s electoral rolls would not be entitled to government benefits, including ration and welfare schemes.

By linking welfare databases with revised electoral rolls, the two state governments are using the SIR process to identify duplicate, deceased and allegedly ineligible beneficiaries in an effort to plug leakages in welfare delivery systems.

The Election Commission launched the SIR exercise ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections and the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls to purify electoral rolls. Around 65 lakh names were deleted in Bihar, while about 91 lakh names were removed in West Bengal. Of those deleted in Bengal, more than 27 lakh remained under the category of “logical discrepancies” and were unable to vote in the Assembly elections held on April 23 and 29.

Although the Direct Benefit Transfer system reduced leakages by eliminating middlemen and ghost beneficiaries, gaps remain due to incomplete Aadhaar-bank linkages, duplicate beneficiaries and inclusion-exclusion errors. The states now appear to be relying on SIR-verified databases to tighten welfare delivery.

Congress leader P. Chidambaram described the moves by Bengal and Bihar as “outrageous”.

“Is citizenship the basis for inclusion in the electoral roll, or is inclusion in the electoral roll the basis of citizenship? The Supreme Court should ponder the question,” Chidambaram said.

Bengal links SIR deletions to welfare eligibility

After taking office on May 10, the BJP government in West Bengal clarified that people removed from the voter list during SIR — including those whose appeals remain pending before tribunals — would temporarily be excluded from welfare schemes such as the proposed Annapurna Bhandar programme, aimed at replacing the Trinamool Congress government’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.

West Bengal Women and Child Welfare Minister Agnimitra Paul said women whose names remained under verification would not initially be included in the beneficiary list for the scheme, which is expected to begin on June 1.

“We will do an analysis before June 1. Those whose names have been struck off, if they are receiving benefits, they are not supposed to. Someone who is dead is not supposed to get it. Someone who is not a citizen of this country is not supposed to get it,” Paul said.

Officials indicated that beneficiaries whose names are later restored to electoral rolls would again become eligible for the scheme.

Chief Minister Adhikari said no existing welfare schemes would be discontinued, but stressed that they would now operate through a “transparent process”.

“No deceased person, illegal infiltrator, or non-Indian individual will be allowed to avail benefits meant for citizens of the state,” Adhikari said.

The SIR process in West Bengal drew criticism in minority-dominated and migrant-heavy regions, where the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of using the exercise for voter suppression.

Bihar to cancel welfare benefits for SIR-deleted names

A similar process is underway in Bihar under the NDA government led by Samrat Choudhary.

The Bihar government has said individuals removed during the SIR exercise would lose eligibility for welfare benefits and ration schemes.

“People whose names have been deleted from the Bihar electoral roll will not be entitled to any government benefits, including ration and other welfare schemes,” Choudhary said. He added that bank passbooks linked to deleted beneficiaries would also be cancelled over time.

Bihar Food and Consumer Protection Minister Ashok Choudhary said around five lakh names had already been removed from ration-card lists after the SIR process.

The developments in Bihar and West Bengal point to a major policy shift, with both BJP-led governments relying on SIR data to determine welfare eligibility. While the electoral roll revision may not necessarily expel illegal immigrants, the governments argue it could help reduce leakages in welfare schemes and save public money.