Kolkata, Mar 10: Asserting that no eligible voter’s name would be removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday said the EC’s priority was to ensure free, fair and peaceful polls in the state as it stepped up preparations for the upcoming assembly elections, amid a charged political atmosphere.
Addressing a press conference here after a series of meetings with political parties and senior administrative officials, Kumar said the people of West Bengal have always believed in “peaceful and participatory democracy”.
“Our aim is to ensure free, fair and peaceful polls in Bengal,” he said, emphasising that every eligible voter will have the opportunity to cast their ballot.
“No eligible voter’s name will be removed,” the CEC said.
Speaking about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a politically sensitive exercise that has triggered sharp exchanges between the TMC and the BJP, Kumar said the process was being carried out across the country in accordance with constitutional norms.
“All over India, SIR is being carried out as per the constitutional norms,” he said.
According to the CEC, the objective of the roll revision is to ensure that the voters’ list remains “pure”.
“The aim is to ensure that those who are eligible to vote find their names in the rolls while names of ineligible people do not remain on the list,” Kumar said.
Refuting claims that logical discrepancies have been brought in only for Bengal, the CEC said, “These were pointed out in all the 12 states, similar to the way it was done in West Bengal.”
Explaining the data patterns that emerged during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Kumar said that after enumeration forms were submitted, around 4-5 per cent electors could not map themselves with the 2002 electoral rolls.
They were categorised as ‘unmapped electors’, he said.
“Another 7-8 per cent of electors were found to have mapped themselves incorrectly, either due to deliberate attempts or unintentional errors,” Kumar added.
He said that many cases in West Bengal are currently pending for scrutiny.
“In West Bengal, there were many undecided cases at the ERO and AERO levels,” the CEC said.
He added that names placed in the “under adjudication” category are being processed strictly according to judicial directions.
“Regarding names under adjudication, the process is underway according to the Supreme Court’s orders, and judicial officers are handling the exercise,” Kumar said.
After the February 28 publication of the post-SIR electoral rolls, the Election Commission will also upload supplementary voter lists on its website in due course, he added.
The chief election commissioner’s remarks came amid allegations by the ruling TMC that the poll panel had deleted nearly 64 lakh voters from the electoral rolls following the SIR and placed around 60 lakh more under scrutiny.
Kumar said the number of phases for the West Bengal assembly elections would depend on the assessment of the law-and-order preparedness of the state machinery.
“The phases of polls will depend on the law and order preparedness of the state machinery. We will take a decision after reaching Delhi and discussing the outcome of meetings held in the last two days,” he said.
He also warned that the Election Commission will have zero tolerance towards violence or intimidation of voters or election officials.
“Any attempt by political leaders to intimidate electors or election personnel will not be tolerated,” he said.
He added that all government employees involved in the election process would function strictly according to the instructions of the Election Commission.
“In the election process, no laxity will be tolerated,” Kumar said.
He stressed that absolute non-partisan conduct by government officers was essential to ensure credible elections.
“All agencies have been instructed to work with absolute impartiality,” he said.
Underlining the scale of the electoral exercise in the state, the CEC said West Bengal has around 80,000 polling stations, of which nearly 61,000 are located in rural areas.
He also announced that there would be 100 per cent webcasting in polling booths across the state to enhance transparency during the voting process.
Kumar also coined the EC’s slogan for the upcoming elections, “Chunao porbo, Paschim Banger gorbo” (The election phase is the pride of West Bengal).
The SIR exercise has become a contentious political issue in the state, with opposition parties and the ruling Trinamool Congress trading allegations over alleged voter deletions and “manipulation” of electoral rolls ahead of the assembly polls.
According to official data released on February 28, around 63.66 lakh names, about 8.3 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted since the revision began in November last year, bringing down the voter base from about 7.66 crore to a little over 7.04 crore.
Additionally, more than 60 lakh electors have been placed under the “under adjudication” category, meaning their eligibility will be determined through legal scrutiny in the coming weeks, a development that could potentially reshape electoral equations in several constituencies.
“It will not be appropriate for the EC to comment on what political parties are saying. We do not respond to political statements. The EC works according to the Constitution,” Kumar said. (PTI)
