The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal has ordered District Electoral Officers (DEOs), who are also District Magistrates, to personally visit marginalised and vulnerable voters. These include sex workers and tribal groups. The goal is to help these groups get included in the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). This step comes after repeated appeals from these communities, asking for relaxed rules when they cannot provide documents or prove their link to the 2002 voter list despite being eligible. A letter from the Additional Chief Electoral Officer dated December 31 states, “The DEO shall cause a public hearing to be held, record statements, and prepare formal proceedings duly supported by videography, along with a verified list of eligible persons identified during such enquiry.” This follows instructions from Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti during a recent video conference. DEOs have also been told to consult booth-level agents appointed by political parties during these hearings and consider their views. The letter adds, “The Electoral Registration Officer/Assistant Electoral Registration Officers shall accord due consideration and evidentiary value to such proceedings and records while adjudicating and disposing of the relevant Enumeration Forms submitted by these persons, in accordance with law.” As part of the process, a list of all enrolled electors identified by AEROs/EROs will be submitted to the concerned DEO and the CEO. Activists working with sex worker welfare organisations and rights groups, such as the Society for Human Development and Social Action, Usha Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Amra Padatik, and the Scheduled Caste Federation, had sent written appeals to CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal. They asked to protect the voting rights of eligible electors who cannot prove family links or provide documents. During the voter enumeration phase, the CEO’s office also set up a camp in Sonagachi's red light district. Electoral Registration Officers, booth-level officials, and others helped voters fill forms and distributed Form 6 and Form 8 to add new voters or update details. Mr. Agarwal shared that there are about 12,000 electors in Sonagachi. So far, linkage with the 2002 voters’ list has been established for at least 70% of them.