The Election Commission of India has assigned 294 senior micro-observers, one for each assembly constituency in West Bengal, to oversee the ongoing hearing session on claims and objections regarding the draft voters’ list. These senior micro-observers are in addition to the 6,600 micro-observers already appointed by the Commission for this task. According to sources from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, there are distinctions in the roles and responsibilities of micro-observers and senior micro-observers.
While a micro-observer supervises a single hearing center, a senior micro-observer oversees all hearing centers within a specific assembly constituency. Micro-observers are selected from direct central government employees, central public sector undertakings (PSUs), or public sector banks (PSBs), primarily from Group-B categories with a few from Group-A. In contrast, senior micro-observers are exclusively from Group-A categories, comprising direct central government employees or employees of central PSUs and PSBs.
The micro-observers are currently stationed in West Bengal, whereas the senior micro-observers are recruited from the neighboring states of Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand. The CEO of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, has reached out to officials in these states to appoint officers as senior micro-observers. Selected senior micro-observers from these states are set to commence their duties in West Bengal on January 26 and will remain until the completion of the hearing session, culminating in the publication of the final voters’ list.
The deadline for concluding the hearing sessions is February 7, with the final voters’ list slated for publication on February 14, although there is a possibility of extensions, as indicated by the Commission. Following the release of the final voters’ list, the Commission is anticipated to reveal the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal later this year.
