Kolkata, September 5 — Important preparations are underway in West Bengal as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Manoj Kumar Agarwal, plans two key meetings before a big national-level discussion next week. These meetings will take place in Kolkata on September 6 and September 8, respectively.
The upcoming nationwide meeting in Delhi is organized by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar. During this meeting, all state CEOs will discuss the progress of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a process aimed at updating voter lists accurately. Bihar recently completed its SIR, setting an example for other states to follow.
A source from the CEO’s office shared that the September 6 meeting in Kolkata will involve top officials from the CEO office. On September 8, district magistrates—or district electoral officers—will participate. These meetings will help the CEO of West Bengal assess how ready the state is to carry out the SIR smoothly.
Based on these discussions, Manoj Kumar Agarwal will share insights during the Delhi meeting next week. This will inform how the state moves forward with the revision process.
It’s important to note that in West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have voiced strong opposition to the Special Intensive Revision. They argue that the real motive behind SIR is to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state. Mamata Banerjee has accused the exercise of being politically motivated.
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims that Mamata and her party are opposing the revision out of fear that names of illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh and Myanmar might be removed from the voter list. The last successful SIR in West Bengal happened back in 2002.
In 2023, Bihar recently completed a similar revision process, which is especially significant since upcoming elections are scheduled there as well. The exercise aims to ensure that voter lists are clean and accurate, strengthening the democratic process across states.
Stay tuned for updates as West Bengal prepares for this critical electoral exercise.
