A high-level team from the Election Commission of India (ECI), led by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, arrived in Kolkata on Tuesday to review the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The visit comes at a crucial stage, as the Commission seeks to ensure accuracy, transparency and error-free preparation of the voter list ahead of next year’s Assembly elections. The delegation includes senior officials – Principal Secretaries SB Joshi and Malay Mallik, and Deputy Secretary Abhinav Agarwal. Soon after reaching the city, the officials were engaged in a series of meetings, beginning with a detailed interaction with the District Election Officers (DEOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) of Kolkata North and South. The team later proceeded to Alipore for a second round of discussions with election officials from South 24-Parganas.
Top officials from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, were present at both meetings. According to sources, the primary focus of the Commission is to examine the progress of the SIR exercise and verify whether the ongoing process complies with the guidelines issued by the ECI. The review will also assess the extent to which the electoral rolls have been cleansed of discrepancies, duplications and outdated entries.
The ECI team is scheduled to attend the FLC (first level checking) workshop on 21 November, where all district election officers, the state CEO, and senior Commission officials will take part. The workshop will address technical and procedural aspects linked to the preparation of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and VVPAT units, as well as cross-verification of voter data. Election Commission sources said enumeration forms have already reached 7,51,63,970 voters out of the state’s total electorate of 7,66,38,288, nearly 98 per cent coverage. Among large states, only Madhya Pradesh has performed better in form distribution, followed by Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Goa and Lakshadweep have completed 100 per cent distribution. With the Commission tightening its scrutiny of the voter-list preparation process, the ongoing supervision is expected to continue until the completion of the SIR.
The ECI’s enhanced monitoring underscores its commitment to ensuring a transparent, accurate and credible electoral roll in West Bengal.