New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has sought the deployment of central forces at the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s office citing officials’ protests against workload during the Special Intensive Revision exercise.In a letter to the Union Home Ministry on December 18, the Commission requested immediate, round-the-clock security for the Kolkata premises. The poll body cited a “serious security risk” following a gherao of the office on November 24 and 25 by booth-level officers and political workers protesting the workload of the SIR.The Commission stated that the deployment is necessary to ensure the safety of staff ahead of the forthcoming general election to the legislative assembly. This request follows earlier instructions to the Kolkata Police Commissioner, Manoj Kumar Verma, to provide adequate security.Table: Voter List Revision Statistics (West Bengal)CategoryCountDescription/ContextTotal Deletions (ASDD)58.20 lakhTotal removals from the rollsDeceased24.16 lakhVerified as deceasedShifted/Absent32.65 lakhNo longer residing at registered addressDuplicate Enrolments1.38 lakhMultiple entries for the same individualUnmapped Voters32 lakhPending verification/hearingProgeny Mapping Discrepancies1.36 croreIssues linking family members/generationsThe draft electoral roll, published on December 16, reveals that 92.40% of names have been retained from the previous list of 7.66 crore electors. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal stated that Kolkata North recorded the highest percentage of deletions at 25.92%, with the Jorasanko constituency peaking at 36.85%.To manage the subsequent hearing process, the commission will appoint approximately 4,000 micro-observers, likely drawn from Group-B Central government employees. These officials will oversee hearings for 32 lakh “unmapped” voters who could not be linked to the 2002 electoral roll, as well as a section of the 1.36 crore electors flagged for logical discrepancies in progeny mapping.Agarwal submitted that notices for these hearings would be sent after December 27. The verification phase is scheduled to conclude on February 7, 2026, seven days before the publication of the final electoral roll.While ASDD deletions are final, Mr. Agarwal clarified that any legitimate elector whose name was removed may apply for inclusion via Form 6. To date, the State has collected 3.24 lakh applications for new inclusions.The CEO has also sent a proposal to the Commission for an additional 2,800 electoral roll officers to assist with the exercise. The draft rolls and the list of deleted voters are currently available on the official portal of the West Bengal CEO.