West Bengal’s election machinery is under fire from the Election Commission for sluggish preparations in select districts. The poll watchdog’s pointed critique to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office underscores risks to timely elections in the politically charged state.
Triggering the alert was a detailed virtual powwow last week between Delhi-based ECI top guns and Bengal’s grassroots election functionaries, IAS officers, and police brass. Progress reports on critical areas like voter verification and force deployment were dissected threadbare.
CEO office insiders note that the review exposed persistent bottlenecks. Even as Holi festivities paused official duties on Wednesday, Election Commissioner Gyaneshwar Kumar dialed into a quick virtual meet-up that evening with district heads. His ire was directed at South 24 Parganas and a Bihar-adjacent district’s lackluster strides, calling for swift interventions.
Expect more heat on Thursday with Kumar’s follow-up virtual directives aimed at ramping up momentum. The ECI full commission touches down March 8 night, teeing up exhaustive discussions over March 9-10 on voter document disputes under judicial lens—termed ‘logical discrepancies’—alongside preparation overviews.
Political heat simmered as CPI-M activists encamped overnight before the CEO’s Kolkata office from Wednesday dusk. Their ultimatum: freeze poll dates pending full judicial resolution on voter deletions and firm assurances for legitimate entries. Come Thursday morning, the standoff endured, hinging on CEO Manoj Agarwal’s engagement.
The electoral roll finalized on February 28 omitted judicially pending names, with supplements to emerge post-process. As deadlines loom, the ECI’s push collides with opposition demands, setting the stage for a tense electoral buildup in West Bengal.