The Election Commission of India has appointed 12 additional Special Roll Observers (SROs) for West Bengal to oversee the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state. These SROs have been assigned to focus on districts along the International Borders with Bangladesh and those with a high number of “logical discrepancy” cases. Specifically, eight districts have been identified for special attention, including Malda, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24 Paragans, and South 24 Parganas.
The newly-appointed SROs will concentrate on districts where there have been reports of violence and disruptions during the ongoing sessions on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list. Notably, districts like East Midnapore, West Midnapore, East Burdwan, and Hooghly have been highlighted for this purpose. Hooghly, in particular, has been noted as tension-prone due to frequent disruptions by ruling Trinamool Congress activists.
These SROs have been instructed to conduct random checks on documents provided by voters flagged as “logical discrepancy” cases and ensure that only Commission-approved documents are accepted as valid identity proofs. The total number of SROs in West Bengal now stands at 33, the highest among states and Union Territories where the SIR exercise is ongoing.
The team of special electoral roll observers in West Bengal is headed by Subarea Gupta, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from the West Bengal cadre. The decision to appoint these additional SROs stems from the Election Commission’s concerns about certain officials not adhering to the ECI-set guidelines for the voter revision exercise.
