Ahead of the first phase of the West Bengal assembly polls on Thursday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday released lists of voters included in the electoral roll after the Supreme Court-appointed appellate tribunals cleared them, and those deleted for the want of clearance.
“Two lists have been published for the first phase of polls. One comprises the names of voters included in the electoral roll after court-appointed appellate tribunals cleared them. The second one [list] comprises deleted voters,” said an ECI official.
The Supreme Court last week ordered the inclusion of cleared voters in the electoral roll at least two days before polling to entitle them to vote. It marked a significant relaxation of the earlier freeze on voter lists, as many voters remained caught in the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
On Thursday, 152 of West Bengal’s 294 assembly constituencies will go to the polls in the first phase of polling. The polling for the remaining 142 seats will be held on April 29, and the results will be declared on May 4.
On Tuesday, chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said political parties, candidates, returning officers, and district election officers will be given copies of the updated voter list. “Electors, whose cases are cleared by the tribunals, will be informed through their booth-level officers,” said Agarwal
{{/usCountry}}On Tuesday, chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said political parties, candidates, returning officers, and district election officers will be given copies of the updated voter list. “Electors, whose cases are cleared by the tribunals, will be informed through their booth-level officers,” said Agarwal
{{/usCountry}}On March 10, the ECI constituted 19 appellate tribunals on the Supreme Court’s orders. It appointed retired judges to hear appeals against orders of judicial officers in cases involving voters marked “under adjudication” as part of the SIR. The court-appointed judicial officers deleted over 2.7 million voters after adjudication.
The SIR has been among the key issues dominating the election campaign in West Bengal. The campaign for the first phase of polling ended on Tuesday.