Bengal to publish final voters’ list on Feb 28, CEO tells CEC; disputed entries to be reviewed later

Kolkata, Feb 20 (IANS) The final voters’ list in West Bengal will be published as scheduled on February 28, excluding those cases involving “logical discrepancies” that will be referred to judicial officers for adjudication in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal has assured Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.

According to sources in the CEO’s office, the assurance was conveyed on Friday evening after the Supreme Court directed the deployment of serving and retired judicial officers to oversee the adjudication of claims and objections arising from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound West Bengal.

Sources said the Chief Election Commissioner personally contacted the West Bengal CEO to ascertain whether the apex court’s order would require postponement of the publication of the final electoral rolls.

“The CEO assured the CEC that the final voters’ list will definitely be published as per schedule on February 28, excluding those cases which will be referred to judicial officers for review. Supplementary lists incorporating decisions on those cases will be published subsequently,” a senior official from the CEO’s office said.

Initially, the final voters’ list was scheduled to be published on February 14. However, the date was later deferred to February 28 to allow additional time for scrutiny and verification of claims and objections.

Earlier in the day, the CEO, along with Additional CEOs, Joint CEOs, Deputy CEOs, and Special Roll Observers, conducted a virtual review meeting with district magistrates, who also function as district electoral officers (DEOs), to assess the progress of the revision exercise across the state.

During the meeting, the CEO instructed officials to expedite the scrutiny process and warned that any further delay or lackadaisical approach would not be tolerated, sources said.

Officials were directed to carry out document verification and scrutiny on a priority basis to ensure completion of the revision exercise within the stipulated timeframe.

Some district electoral officers informed the CEO during the meeting that they would require an additional four to five days to complete scrutiny processes in their respective jurisdictions, sources added.

February 21 had earlier been scheduled as the last date for completion of the scrutiny process under the Special Intensive Revision exercise.

The Special Intensive Revision is being undertaken to examine claims, objections, and discrepancies in the electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming elections in the state, with the Election Commission aiming to ensure accuracy and transparency in the final voters’ list.

–IANS

src/pgh