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ECI Appoints Four More Special Observers for West Bengal Voter Roll Revision

The Election Commission of India has appointed four additional serving IAS officers as special roll observers for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal. This move comes as the process is in its second stage of hearing claims and objections on the draft voters' list. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the CEC alleging the revision aims to delete existing voters rather than correct errors. The final electoral roll will be published on February 14, ahead of the crucial state Assembly elections.

Key Points: ECI Adds Special Observers for Bengal Voter Roll Revision

  • Four new IAS officers appointed as special roll observers
  • Over 3,500 micro-observers deployed for the process
  • CM Mamata Banerjee alleges voter exclusion objective
  • Final voters' list to be published on February 14
2 min read

SIR exercise: ECI appoints four more special observers for West Bengal

Election Commission appoints four IAS officers as special observers for West Bengal's electoral roll revision amid allegations from CM Mamata Banerjee.

"SIR is being carried out with the sole objective of deleting and excluding names of existing voters - Mamata Banerjee"

Kolkata, Jan 10

The Election Commission of India on Saturday appointed four more special roll observers for West Bengal to review the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state, which is currently at the second stage of hearing claims and objections on the draft voters' list.

The four additional special roll observers are all serving Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, with three of them currently serving in the national capital, New Delhi, and the fourth serving in Tripura. The four special roll observers for West Bengal whose appointments were announced by the Commission on Saturday are Ratan Biswas, Vikas Sinha, Sailesh and Sandeep Rathore.

Currently, West Bengal has one ECI-appointed special roll observer, Subrata Gupta, a retired IAS officer from the West Bengal cadre. Under Gupta, there are 16 ECI-appointed roll observers, all serving IAS officers.

In addition, the Commission has appointed over 3,500 micro-observers to review the process of hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters' list in West Bengal. These micro-observers are either Central government employees or employees of Central government undertakings or public sector banks, mainly in Group B categories and some in Group A categories.

Incidentally, on Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state is being carried out with the sole objective of deleting and excluding names of existing voters, rather than correcting errors or including new voters.

Insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said the Commission's decision to appoint the additional four special roll observers came as the ECI does not find the roles of certain district magistrates - also district electoral officers (DEOs) - electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) in conformity with ECI guidelines for the revision exercise.

The draft voters' list in West Bengal was published on December 16 last year. The final voters' list will be published on February 14 next year. Soon after that, the ECI will announce the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal, scheduled for next year.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priyanka N
Mamata Banerjee's letter raises a valid concern. The SIR should be about inclusion, not exclusion. In a state with such political sensitivity, every action of the ECI must be transparent and above board to maintain public trust.
S
Sarah B
Interesting to see the scale of oversight - from 1 special observer to 4 more, plus 16 roll observers and over 3500 micro-observers! It shows how complex and critical the electoral process in India is. The machinery is massive.
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Aman W
The article says the ECI isn't happy with some DEOs and EROs. This is worrying. These local officers are the backbone of the process. If they are not following guidelines, it creates huge problems. Hope the new observers can fix this.
V
Vikram M
Final list on Feb 14, then dates announced. The countdown has begun! Bengal's election is not just a state affair, it sets the tone for national politics. Every vote must count, and every legitimate voter must be on that list. Jai Hind!
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Nisha Z
As a citizen, my humble request to all observers and officials: please do your duty without fear or favour. We common people just want a peaceful election where our choice is recorded correctly. Don't let us down.

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