In Kolkata on Oct. 8, a team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) headed by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti is set to meet the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal. The group will go over the state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) – a key review process that helps the commission prepare for the upcoming elections.
The meeting will cover several pressing concerns. For years, West Bengal has faced serious complaints about how booth‑level officers (BLOs) are chosen. Critics say that around 2,000 stalls in some districts were staffed by state government contractual employees without the CEO’s approval, a move that violates ECI rules. The commission will also discuss the mapping of districts to assembly constituencies, a task that can influence electoral outcomes.
“We expect the session to run about three hours,” said a spokesperson for the central ECI unit, which landed in Kolkata late on Tuesday. The team will pop into the CEO’s office in the early afternoon to review SIR paperwork and address the BLO irregularities. Deputy Commissioner Bharti will chair the meeting, joined by IT Director General Seema Khanna, other senior ECI officials, and the West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
Because of ongoing floods and landslides in the hills, Terai, and Dooars of North Bengal, district magistrates and their sub‑ordinates from those districts will skip Wednesday’s in‑person meeting. They will instead join a virtual session with ECI officials later this month once the crisis eases. Later that afternoon, Bharti and his team plan a separate online call with district officers to clarify details.
On Thursday morning, the central commission will travel to Kolaghat in East Midnapore. There, they will meet district electoral officers and continue the same work on electoral logistics.
The ECI’s focus on SIR, booth‑level appointments, and constituency mapping reflects the commission’s commitment to clean, fair elections as West Bengal readies for the next polls.
Source: ianslive
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