As the hearings for voters flagged for various discrepancies in their documents continue across West Bengal as part of the Election Commission (EC)’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, people from all walks of life – ranging from ordinary citizens to ministers, sportspersons to movie stars – have been queueing up for them in order to prove their eligibility as voters.
These queues in different parts of the state are also seeing a slew of sadhus and monks, who have renounced all worldly attachments and embraced spirituality.
While many seers of various Maths and Missions are said to stay away from voting, they have responded to the EC’s notices to appear for these hearings as they are keen to be included in electoral rolls to avoid complications in their visa applications when they travel abroad.
A number of monks from the Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) and the ISKCON, who exercise their franchise, have also joined the SIR hearings. Both the BSS and the ISKCON are prominent Hindu bodies headquartered in Bengal.
According to a BSS insider, several monks of their organisation had given the name of its founder Acharya Swami Pranavananda as their father’s name, which led to document mismatch for which they had been called for the SIR hearing.
BSS general secretary Swami Biswatmananda told The Indian Express: “Some of our monks have been called for the hearings as there are some technical issues. But these are not problems. SIR is a documentation and all Indian citizens have to do it. They are asking for documents as part of their exercise that everyone has to undergo. There are some misinterpretations.”
He said due to some “technical difficulties” the Booth Level Officer (BLO) had visited the BSS’ Ballygunge headquarters in Kolkata twice to assist them and clear their doubts.
Another BSS seer, Swami Dibyananda, said: “There was a minor technical issue regarding my name. I had submitted all my documents like affidavit of name change, original address, and current address. They saw my documents and said okay. I did not face any difficulties – and this is something that we all have to do.”
Swami Vimukhtanandaji of the BSS said, “When we joined BSS, we submitted all documents. So there was not much trouble in getting them. I submitted the affidavit showing the link between my original name at the time of birth and the ordained name after joining this order. I did not face any harassment.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, ISKCON Kolkata’s vice-president
Radharamn Das said, ”The SIR is an important exercise for maintaining the integrity of the electoral rolls. ISKCON devotees, in general, have not faced major difficulties and have been able to submit the required documents.”
Das, however, admitted that renunciates like sanyasis and brahmacharis have some concerns relating to the SIR exercise. “After diksha or sanyas, their names change, and in many cases, according to the Sanatana Dharma tradition, they may write (in the enumeration form) the name of their spiritual master in place of the father’s name, as sanyas is understood as a form of spiritual rebirth and renunciation of previous worldly identity,” he said. “The EC may consider creating special provisions or reconciliation mechanisms to accommodate such cases, so that genuine renunciates do not face procedural hurdles while maintaining the accuracy of electoral records.”
An ISKCON member, Vishal Laxiramka, said, “I am originally from Jharkhand but have been living in Kolkata for the last 15 years as an ISKCON brahmachari, and since my name was not included in the 2002 SIR I received a notice. I attended the hearing, and submitted my passport copy and other documents, and also details of my parents’ names in the last SIR to show my connection and nationality.”
Another ISKCON member, Rabindradas Adhikari, who has been staying in Kolkata since 2001, had also been called for the SIR hearing. He said, “Many ISKCON sevaks have been called for these hearings. I originally hail from Hooghly district. I had taken my documents and passport for the hearing – they checked it and said okay. I faced no troubles.”
Adhikari said the ISKCON members are required to submit various documents while joining it, so they did not face problems while collecting them for the SIR exercise.
However, some monks have struggled in this process as they do not have documents, sources said.
More than 1.16 crore voters had been flagged in Bengal for “logical discrepancies” in their documents on various grounds after the first round of SIR, and asked to appear for hearings to prove their eligibility as voters.
As per the EC’s schedule, the period for issuing notices and holding hearings in Bengal is from December 16, 2025 to February 7, 2026, after which the final roll will be published on February 14.
The SIR process in Bengal, along with eight other states and three Union Territories, began in October last year.
Based on the enumeration forms received, the EC published the draft rolls of Bengal on December 16, in which 58 lakh names were deleted as the BLOs marked them deceased, shifted/ absent or enrolled at multiple places.