West Bengal Final Electoral Roll Unlikely to Be Published Before February 28
Kolkata: The final electoral roll in West Bengal is unlikely to be published before February 28, the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office indicated on Monday following a Supreme Court hearing. This delay stems from a complex post-hearing verification process and logistical challenges in deploying micro observers.
CEO's Statement on Timeline and Process
Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal stated on Monday, "I will try my level best so that the roll preparation is complete and approval of the EC is obtained for publishing the final roll before the end of this month." However, he quickly added that the Supreme Court granted an additional seven days to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) after February 14. Following this, District Electoral Officers (DEOs), roll observers, and the CEO must super-check everything, with the CEO ensuring roll health specifically. This entire exercise will take at least seven days, after which the Election Commission will need three to four days to publish the final roll.
Extension Request and State's Submission
Agarwal wrote to the Election Commission on February 7, seeking an extension of the deadline for hearing and verification by a week to February 14. In its submission to the Supreme Court on Monday, the state said it sent a list of close to 8,500 officers to the EC for the role of micro observers. However, a senior official at the Bengal CEO office replied to a query on this list, saying, "We did not receive any such list from the state. The DEOs might have got it."
Deployment and Training of Micro Observers
The official noted that over 8,000 micro observers, who are staff of the central government, central Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and nationalized banks, are currently being deployed in Special Summary Revision (SIR)-related work. This number will increase to approximately 17,000. The official expressed uncertainty, stating, "We don't know when 8,500 state government officials will come and how many of them will join. We are also in the dark about their training. But, once they join, the workload of our existing micro observers will be reduced to some extent." He added that 90% of micro observers deputed by the EC understand Bengali well.
Logistical Challenges and Timeline for State Officials
According to an EC source, the CEO needs one to two days to issue appointment letters to the 8,500-odd state officials to be deputed as micro observers. Then, they will have to undergo training for at least two days. "The EC will take another five to seven days to provide them with the required login. Therefore, if the appointment letters are issued on Tuesday, then they will be on the ground for the work after eight days minimum from today," the source explained.
Concerns Over State Administration Shortage
Another EC source raised concerns, asking, "The state administration is already grappling with a shortage of officers. Will any officer remain with the administration if the government provides us with 8,500 officers?" while adding that the state list may originally include all sanctioned posts of officers, not today's actual number.
Verification Progress and Upcoming Meetings
Meanwhile, the CEO claimed that a little over 1 crore documents received in the hearing were uploaded for verification, and most of them are also being verified. Agarwal will attend a preparatory meeting at the Nirvachan Sadan on Tuesday to discuss issues like publication of the final roll, EC's full bench visit to Bengal, notification of elections, and counting of votes, according to sources.
