The Election Commission of India will convene a crucial virtual meeting with top electoral officers, district magistrates, and district electoral officers in West Bengal. This meeting precedes the scrutiny phase of voters’ identity documents, set to commence on Saturday. The extended deadline for resolving claims and objections to the draft voters’ list in the state concludes on Saturday, with the scrutiny phase continuing until February 21.
Micro-observers appointed by the ECI for the ongoing special intensive revision have highlighted instances of non-compliance with the Commission’s guidelines during the hearing sessions. The virtual meeting’s agenda includes emphasizing the acceptance of only 13 ECI-listed documents as valid identity proofs. The Commission is expected to remind electoral officers about these guidelines during the meeting.
Additionally, the ECI will likely instruct the CEO’s office to issue show-cause notices to electoral registration officers and assistant electoral registration officers who have accepted “unlisted” documents. The meeting will also address the finalization of housing complexes where temporary polling booths will be established for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.
The CEO’s office has identified 78 such housing complexes and has submitted the list to the ECI’s headquarters in New Delhi. Furthermore, discussions during the meeting will revolve around determining the number of phases for the West Bengal Assembly polls. While the CEO’s office has proposed a single-phase poll, the ultimate decision rests with the Election Commission.
The final voters’ list for West Bengal is scheduled to be released on February 28, marking the conclusion of the special intensive revision. Subsequently, the ECI’s full bench will visit West Bengal for two days starting March 1 to assess the post-revision scenario. Following this visit, the Election Commission will announce the polling dates for the Assembly elections.
