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West Bengal Poll Scandal: ECI Reviews Suvendu Adhikari's Protocol Violation Claims

The Election Commission of India is currently examining complaints filed by Suvendu Adhikari against three West Bengal District Magistrates. The Leader of Opposition alleges these officials violated election protocols during the Special Intensive Revision exercise. He claims the DMs pressured booth-level officers to engage in unethical practices, including sharing official OTPs. The complaints specifically target district magistrates from East Midnapore, Hooghly, and East Burdwan districts.

Key Points: ECI Reviews Suvendu Adhikari Complaint Against Bengal DMs

  • ECI reviewing serious protocol violation complaints against three district magistrates
  • Adhikari alleges DMs pressured booth-level officers during voter revision
  • Complaints target DMs from East Midnapore, Hooghly and East Burdwan districts
  • Allegations claim DMs forced BLOs to share official OTPs with ruling party
2 min read

SIR: ECI reviewing Suvendu Adhikari's protocol violation complaint against three West Bengal DMs

Election Commission investigates Suvendu Adhikari's allegations that three West Bengal District Magistrates violated SIR protocols and pressured BLOs.

"I informed the commission delegation on how the three District Magistrates were operating in a manner that violated the commission-mandated protocol - Suvendu Adhikari"

Kolkata, Nov 22

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is reviewing complaints received from the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, against three District Magistrates, who are also the District Election Officers (DEOs), claiming that they were not following the poll panel's protocols for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.

The three District Magistrates against whom Adhikari had registered complaints to the ECI are from his native district of East Midnapore, besides those of Hooghly and East Burdwan.

Adhikari confirmed that he had registered the complaints against the three District Magistrates with the central ECI team, who visited West Bengal to review the progress of the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.

"I informed the commission delegation on how the three District Magistrates were operating in a manner that violated the commission-mandated protocol while conducting the revision exercise. There had been complaints against them of putting undue pressure on the booth-level officers," the leader of the opposition.

Confirming receipt of the complaint from the leader of the opposition, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said the commission is reviewing the complaints, considering the seriousness of the charges made by Adhikari.

The leader of the opposition had been extremely vocal against the role of the District Magistrates, as well as the DEOs.

On Thursday, he issued a statement claiming to float an explosive allegation that the pressure on the BLOs was not due to the SIR-related workload, as asserted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but because District Magistrates were forcing them to engage in "unethical practices" during the voter list revision exercise.

In the statement, the leader of the opposition alleged that districts like East Midnapore, Hooghly, and East Burdwan, among others, the District Magistrates, as well as the DEOs, were acting as full-time Trinamool Congress election agents by putting pressure on the BLOs to share official OTPs either with the district magistrates or with the ruling party activists appointed as the data entry operators.

According to the leader of the opposition, this "unethical pressure" on the BLOs was intended to "misuse" the BLO App to tamper with the voter list that is currently being cleaned through the SIR process.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
As someone from West Bengal, I've seen how voter lists get manipulated. If BLOs are being forced to share OTPs, that's completely unacceptable. Hope ECI conducts a fair investigation.
M
Michael C
While the allegations are serious, let's wait for ECI's findings before jumping to conclusions. Both sides have made accusations in the past that turned out to be exaggerated.
S
Shreya B
This is exactly why we need independent election commissions! If administrative officers become political tools, what hope do common citizens have? 😟 ECI should suspend these officers during investigation.
A
Aman W
West Bengal politics has become so toxic. Both sides keep making allegations but where's the proof? Either provide concrete evidence or stop wasting ECI's time with these complaints.
N
Nisha Z
OTP sharing with political parties? This is a massive security breach if true! Our voter data should be completely secure. ECI needs to audit the entire BLO app system across Bengal.

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