A team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to visit West Bengal this week to assess readiness for the upcoming two-phase voting on April 23 and April 29. The team, led by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharati, will focus on reviewing preparations for the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state. Upon arrival in Kolkata, the team will split into two groups to evaluate readiness in different districts of South and North Bengal.
Insiders from the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office revealed that one team will assess preparedness in South Bengal districts like East Burdwan, West Burdwan, East Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Kolkata. The other team will focus on North Bengal districts including Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, and South Dinajpur. Both teams will engage with general and police administration officers in the respective districts to ensure smooth election processes.
CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal has been actively visiting various districts in West Bengal to oversee poll preparations firsthand. The CEO’s office source emphasized the significance of these initiatives in upholding the Commission’s mission for fair and violence-free elections. Notably, this marks the first instance of special ECI teams conducting tours in West Bengal during recent elections.
The upcoming voting will occur in two phases, with the first phase scheduled for April 23 covering 152 Assembly constituencies in North Bengal and select South Bengal districts. The second phase on April 29 will focus on remaining districts including Kolkata and its neighboring areas like North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and Howrah. The election results are expected to be announced on May 4.
