West Bengal's Final Voter List Published Online Today at Noon
Kolkata: By noon today, electors across West Bengal will have definitive clarity regarding their eligibility to participate in the upcoming state assembly elections. The culmination of a nearly four-month-long, highly contentious special intensive revision process sees the state's definitive electoral roll being officially released online around midday.
Massive Scrutiny: 66 Lakh Names Flagged
The finalized roll will encompass all 7.08 crore names that appeared on the preliminary draft SIR list. However, a significant portion—approximately 66 lakh entries—will carry specific markers. Election Commission sources have detailed that close to 6 lakh names, which were struck off by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) during case disposals, will be explicitly marked as 'deleted'. Furthermore, a substantial figure exceeding 60 lakh names will be designated as 'under adjudication', indicating their status is pending final review and decision.
Access and Verification Procedures
Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Agarwal, provided comprehensive guidance on Friday. "The voters' list went to print this morning. It will be published online by noon tomorrow," he stated. He emphasized that any elector can verify their inclusion by searching with their EPIC number on the official Election Commission website, the Chief Electoral Officer's website, or through the dedicated ECINET mobile application.
For those preferring physical verification, hard copies of the electoral roll will be accessible at the offices of the Block Development Officer (BDO), Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), and the District Magistrate/District Election Officer (DM/DEO). "If electors want to check their names on the physical list, they will have to visit or send a representative to the BDO, SDO or DM/DEO offices," Agarwal clarified.
Infrastructure and Distribution Protocols
Addressing potential technical concerns, the CEO assured that the EC website is fortified against crashes. "We don't apprehend the EC website crashing because multiple servers have been deployed to host the lists," he confirmed, highlighting robust backend preparations.
The distribution to political entities is structured as follows:
- Eight registered political parties will receive the complete state electoral roll on pen drives directly from the CEO's office.
- At the district level, District Election Officers (DEOs) are mandated to provide two hard copies of their respective district's electoral roll to the political parties.
Agarwal also addressed specific queries, noting there is "no such legal provision" for displaying the list at individual polling booths. He further clarified that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will not be issued hard copies of the roll.
Special Arrangements for Kolkata Constituencies
Electors residing within the Kolkata North and Kolkata South parliamentary constituencies have designated locations for physical copy access. Hard copies will be available at the Kolkata North DEO's office situated in the Jessop Building and the Kolkata South DEO's office located in Alipore.
Heightened Security Alert
In anticipation of the electoral roll's publication and coinciding with the Dol Yatra/Holi festivities, the state administration issued directives on Friday for police forces to maintain a state of high alert, ensuring law and order during this sensitive period.
