The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the publication of the first supplementary voter list under the Special Initiative for Registration (SIR) process in West Bengal, marking a significant step in the electoral process. This update comes as 27 lakh pending voter records have been settled, with approximately 2 lakh names being processed daily.
Voters who have objections to the list can appeal online through the ECI Net app or offline at district or sub-divisional offices. To facilitate this, 19 appeal tribunals have been established across 23 districts for voters whose names have been excluded from the supplementary list.
In Surat, the voter list for the upcoming municipal elections has been made publicly available at 40 locations, with the complete voters’ list for all 30 wards displayed at the Surat Municipal Corporation headquarters. Voters are required to submit applications for any corrections or changes at the election and census department at the SMC head office if they identify errors.
The first supplementary voter list was uploaded on the websites of the ECI and West Bengal CEO at around 11:55 PM. As of late afternoon, 29 lakh adjudications have been completed out of the 60 lakh cases currently under judicial review.
According to the final electoral roll published on February 28, the total number of voters in West Bengal stands at 7,04,59,284. This reflects a decrease from the earlier draft roll, which included 7,08,16,630 names, resulting in 58,20,899 names being deleted during the enumeration phase.
In a related move, the Election Commission has removed 73 Returning Officers (ROs), primarily Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs), as part of the ongoing efforts to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
The SIR exercise in Bengal was initiated on October 27 last year, when the electorate was recorded at 7,66,37,529. This update is crucial as it addresses the discrepancies in the voter list and aims to enhance voter participation in the upcoming elections.
Details remain unconfirmed regarding the next steps in the voter registration process and any further developments expected in the coming weeks.
