SIR hearing: CEO to seek more time for 15-20 seats
Times of India | 7 February 2026
Kolkata: A day before EC's Feb 7 deadline for SIR hearings, Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal said on Friday he would seek more time from the poll panel to wrap up the process in several assembly constituencies in the Kolkata North Lok Sabha seat and Malda and South 24 Parganas districts.
The CEO will also seek an extension for the Kurseong assembly constituency to hold a special hearing for Missionaries of Charity nuns.
"Of the 294 assembly constituencies, 15-20 may require an additional 2-3 days to complete the process. We will write for a deadline extension, and EC will do exactly what we seek," he said.
The final electoral roll is set to be published on Feb 14.
The CEO also said he would propose a one-phase assembly polls.
The 2021 assembly polls were spread across eight phases and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases.
"I have asked all DEOs (district electoral officers) to send proposals for extension of the hearing deadline, if required, by tonight. The DEOs of Kolkata North, Malda and South 24 Parganas have informed me that more time is needed to complete the process in a few assembly constituencies. In Kurseong, I have been informed that more time is needed for a special hearing in Missionaries of Charity. After receiving the DEOs' proposals, I will write to EC tonight or tomorrow morning seeking extension of the hearing deadline for those assembly constituencies, and not for the entire state," Agarwal said on Friday evening.
"Of the 294 assembly constituencies in Bengal, 15-20 may require an additional 2-3 days to complete the process. We will write for a deadline extension, and EC will do exactly what we seek," he said.
The poll panel has already deployed more assistant electoral registration officers in South 24 Parganas to expedite the hearings.
The CEO has sought assembly-wise hearing details from the DEOs. As many as 20 of the 24 DEOs informed him that the hearings were over.
Among the seven assembly segments in the Kolkata North Lok Sabha constituency, hearings are over in Shyampukur, Maniktala and Kashipur-Belgachia. The process is still on in four other constituencies — Chowringhee, Entally, Beleghata and Jorasanko.
According to sources, the DEOs of Malda and South 24 Parganas have said they would not be able to meet the deadline because of the inclusion of many names in the list of voters with "logical discrepancies" in their enumeration forms.
In Kolkata North, lack of enough personnel has hampered SIR work since its rollout on Nov 4.
The CEO also said about 4-5 lakh electors didn't turn up for hearings and their names would not be included in the final voters' lists.