KOLKATA: India’s Election Commission has expressed sharp dissatisfaction with election preparations in two West Bengal districts ahead of the upcoming polls. In a strongly worded communication to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer, the poll panel highlighted inadequate progress, signaling potential hurdles in the state’s readiness.
Senior officials from the ECI’s New Delhi headquarters held a virtual meeting last week with district-level election officers, bureaucrats, and police chiefs across West Bengal. The session focused on scrutinizing the status of key preparations, from voter list updates to security arrangements.
A source in the CEO’s office revealed that after reviewing inputs from these interactions, the Commission identified critical gaps. Despite Holi holidays on Wednesday, Election Commissioner Gyaneshwar Kumar convened a late-night virtual huddle with district magistrates and other officials. He specifically voiced concerns over sluggish advancements in South 24 Parganas and another district, demanding immediate corrective measures.
Another round of virtual deliberations is slated for Thursday, where Kumar is expected to outline accelerated timelines and strict directives to fast-track the process. The full ECI bench is set to arrive in West Bengal on March 8 evening, followed by marathon sessions on March 9 and 10. These will delve into ongoing judicial probes into ‘logical discrepancies’ in voter documents and a comprehensive review of overall preparations.
Meanwhile, CPI-M leaders and activists staged an overnight sit-in protest outside the CEO’s office in central Kolkata starting Wednesday evening. Their core demand: no poll date announcement until the judicial inquiry into voter deletions concludes and guarantees are provided for retaining genuine voters’ names.
The protest continued into Thursday morning, with CPI-M spokespersons vowing to persist until CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal meets them. The final electoral roll was published on February 28, excluding names under judicial scrutiny. Supplementary lists will follow as per the probe’s progress.
This development underscores mounting tensions as West Bengal gears up for high-stakes elections, with the ECI pushing for flawless execution amid political pressures.