E-Paper
Amid buzz about Oct launch, Election Commission trains Bengal poll officials on SIR
An official said case studies from Bihar, where the SIR has already been rolled out earlier this year, were discussed at the training
KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday held a training session for district-level election officers in West Bengal amid speculation that the poll watchdog may begin a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in October ahead of next year’s state elections.
“A preparatory training session on SIR was virtually held by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal. It was attended by all Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), ADM (election) and OC (election) and other senior district-level officers related to voter list revision from across the state,” said a state poll panel official.
“The meeting was primarily held on issues related to the SIR. Case studies from Bihar, where the SIR has already been rolled out earlier this year, were showcased in the training. It was also said in the meeting that the training of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would have to be within a week,” said an official who was present at the meeting.
The CEO’s office has already directed district officials to start mapping voters as compared to the electoral rolls published in 2002 when the last SIR exercise was held.
At a meeting of CEOs on September 10, the poll watchdog reviewed state-level preparedness for what would be the largest electoral revision exercise ahead of a busy election calendar next year.
Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar repeatedly emphasised the importance of SIR, at this meeting, underscoring that the exercise must ensure the removal of ineligible names and inclusion of all eligible voters.
“No one who is not a citizen of India, who is not 18 years of age or above, or who is enrolled in multiple places should remain a voter in that area. That is the importance of this exercise,” he said, calling for greater public awareness around the SIR process.
The controversial exercise first kicked off in Bihar in July and the draft roll, announced on August 1, excluded 6.5 million names. The final roll is set to be announced by the end of the month, ahead of assembly polls scheduled later this year.
