The Election Commission of India (ECI) has named 12 additional special electoral roll observers for West Bengal to oversee the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) in the state. Among these observers are Harsh Mangla, Nand Kumarum, P Bala Kiran, Prasanna R, Raghav Langer, Ravi Shanakar, Shashank Mishra, V. Kiran Gopal, S. Venkateshpathy, Nishitha Upadhyay, Devesh Daval, and Gaya Prasad. This brings the total number of special roll observers in the state to 33, the highest among all states and Union Territories where the parallel SIR exercise is taking place.
Since the commencement of the SIR process, there has been a gradual increase in the appointment of special electoral roll observers, reflecting the importance of the voter list exercise in West Bengal. The team of special electoral roll observers in the state is headed by Subrata Gupta, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from the West Bengal cadre. In addition to these 33 new special electoral roll observers, the ECI has also deployed 6,500 micro-observers to monitor the ongoing hearing sessions on claims and objections regarding the draft voters’ list in West Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed concerns to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar about the appointment of micro-observers, alleging that the electoral roll revision in the state is focused on removing existing voters rather than rectifying errors or adding new voters. Sources from the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer revealed that the ECI’s decision to appoint the 12 additional special electoral roll observers stems from discrepancies in the roles of certain district magistrates, district electoral officers (DEOs), electoral registration officers (EROs), and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) in line with ECI guidelines for the voter revision exercise.
