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ECI Sends Special Team to Bengal for Final Poll Preparedness Review

A special Election Commission of India team, headed by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharati, is arriving in Kolkata for a final review of preparedness for the upcoming two-phase West Bengal Assembly elections. The team will split to review districts in both South and North Bengal, holding meetings with local administrative and police officers. Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal has been conducting district visits himself, a first, as part of the Commission's mission to ensure free, fair, and violence-free polls. Voting is scheduled for April 23 and April 29, with results to be declared on May 4.

Key Points: ECI Team Visits Bengal for Final Election Review Before Polls

  • Final review before two-phase polls
  • Teams to assess South & North Bengal districts
  • Focus on free, fair, and violence-free elections
  • Results declaration scheduled for May 4
2 min read

Bengal polls: Special ECI team to visit Bengal for final review of election preparedness

A special ECI team, led by Gyanesh Bharati, arrives in Kolkata to review preparedness for West Bengal's two-phase Assembly elections on April 23 & 29.

"This is the first time that the CEO himself is making district visits. - CEO's office source"

Kolkata, April 12

A special team of the Election Commission of India will arrive in West Bengal this week for a final review of preparedness for the two-phase voting on April 23 and April 29.

Insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that in all probability, the special ECI review team, headed by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Bharati, will arrive in Kolkata on Monday morning to review preparedness for the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state.

It is learnt that after arriving in Kolkata, the members of the visiting ECI team will be divided into two sections. "One team will be reviewing the preparedness in the South Bengal district, like East Burdwan, West Burdwan, East Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Kolkata. The other team will be reviewing the poll preparations for the North Bengal districts Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, and South Dinajpur, among others," said a CEO's office insider.

Both teams will also hold meetings with the officers of the general and police administrations of the respective districts.

Already, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, is making regular visits to the different districts in the state, reviewing poll preparations in the districts concerned.

"This is the first time that the CEO himself is making district visits. All these initiatives are to achieve the Commission's Mission to ensure absolutely free & fair and violence-free polls," said the source in the CEO's office. He also said this is the first time in the past few elections that special ECI teams held tours to West Bengal.

In the first phase on April 23, there will be elections for 152 Assembly constituencies covering the entire North Bengal and certain districts in South Bengal. In the second phase on April 29, the polls will be for the remaining districts in Kolkata, mainly the state capital, Kolkata, and its adjacent districts like North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Howrah, among others.

The results will be declared on May 4.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Good initiative, but the proof will be on polling day. These teams need to ensure central forces are deployed effectively in sensitive booths. Past experience makes us skeptical, but hopeful this time will be different.
A
Aman W
Dividing the team for North and South Bengal makes perfect sense. The challenges in Cooch Behar are very different from those in Kolkata. Hope they have a proper dialogue with local police and administration on the ground realities.
S
Sarah B
As an observer, it's encouraging to see such detailed planning. The two-phase election also seems well-planned to manage security forces. Fingers crossed for a smooth democratic process. The eyes of the nation are on Bengal.
K
Karthik V
"Mission to ensure absolutely free & fair polls" – this should be the standard for EVERY election in EVERY state, not a special mission for Bengal. While I appreciate the effort, it highlights a problematic norm elsewhere. We need this level of scrutiny nationally.
N
Nisha Z
My family is in Howrah. They are relieved to hear about these reviews. The last few elections were very tense. Hoping for a peaceful environment so that my elderly parents can go vote without any worry. All the best to the ECI team!

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