In Kolkata on Wednesday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) moved quickly to set up a tight system for the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, which is scheduled to start after October 15. The directive was handed to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Manoj Kumar Agarwal, and the team in the CEO’s office.
The meeting, led by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, also drew the central ECI team, who were visiting the state for two days. Their main goal was to lay out a step‑by‑step process for checking every layer of the voter‑list review.
“We’ll review every form that Booth‑Level Officers (BLOs) handle,” the meeting insider said. “Assistance Election Returning Officers (AEROs) will take a look next, and the final checks go to Election Returning Officers (EROs). At the district level, Additional District Magistrates, who also serve as election officers, step in to supervise the whole package.”
The central team warned that any major mistake in following these checks could bring disciplinary action, echoing a recent case in Bihar where review officers were suspended for failing to vet voter‑list applications properly.
Earlier this year, the ECI had already pulled a few EROs and AEROs from duty over serious lapses in enrolment vetting. This experience has made the commission extra cautious.
Information technology will also play a big role. Seema Khanna, ECI’s Director General for IT, highlighted the new mobile apps that BLOs must use for the revision. “More tech means more transparency,” she said, stressing that electronic records reduce the risk of losing papers.
West Bengal last held a SIR in 2022. The commission’s push for a digitized, transparent process should help ensure that the upcoming review runs smoothly and with accountability.
Source: ianslive
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