The deadline for releasing the initial supplementary list for the judicial review of voters categorized under “logical discrepancy” expired at midnight on Monday in West Bengal. The list, however, has not been disclosed yet. Earlier, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, had mentioned that the list might be accessible on the Election Commission of India’s central server between 9 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. on Monday.
The list was not found on the Election Commission of India’s website by midnight. Sources from the CEO’s office hinted that the first supplementary list might now be unveiled on Tuesday. “In the dashboard we have, we can see that the judicial adjudication process has been completed for 29 lakh cases. However, I cannot say how many names will finally be cleared after the e-signatures of the judicial officers are completed. I also cannot say at this stage how many names have been identified as excludable,” the CEO stated.
The final electoral roll in West Bengal, released on February 28, excluded about 60 lakh names referred for judicial adjudication. As per the Supreme Court’s directive, supplementary lists are to be periodically published based on the progress of the adjudication process, with the first one scheduled for release by midnight on Monday.
Individuals whose names are deemed excludable during the adjudication will have the opportunity to appeal to the 19 Appellate Tribunals established for this purpose. The Assembly elections in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29, covering 152 and 142 constituencies, respectively. The election results are set to be declared on May 4.
