SC order puzzles poll officers; if voter names are added even two days before ballot day, logistics will go haywire
Telegraph | 17 April 2026
The Supreme Court's Thursday order allowing persons whose names are cleared by appellate tribunals by specific cut-off dates — April 21 and 27 — to vote in this year's Assembly elections on April 23 and 29, has put polling officers in a spot.
An officer engaged in election preparedness in a district that would go to the polls on April 23 said this order meant that new voter names could be added up to two days before the poll day.
He said this posed difficulties as the marked copy of the electoral roll is prepared in advance.
“One has to understand the entire exercise to get to know the difficulties we will face if new names are added to the electoral rolls on P-2 day (P minus 2 is the official parlance to define two days before the polling date). The first job we do to hold polls in a booth is to prepare the marked copy of the electoral rolls, which is done five days before the polling day,” he said.
The marked copy of the electoral rolls, vital to hold the election properly at booths, is generated at the DEO's office five days before the day of voting. It is sent to the returning officer four days before the poll day.
The marked copy of the rolls also means that names of those who have cast their votes via postal ballots or those engaged in election duty and thus have cast their votes in advance are marked. This marked copy is packed in bags, along with other election materials like the EVMs, for polling officers to conduct the polls at the booths.
“Now, this bag is kept ready by the evening of P-3 day as there are more than 200 booths in districts like Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, Murshidabad, South and North 24-Parganas where polling party (presiding officer and four other polling officers who hold polls in a booth) has to leave two days ahead of the voting date and reach the polling station on the day before polling,” said the officer.
Now, if new voters need to be included in the electoral rolls two days before the polling day, it would be tough to prepare the marked copy of the rolls, he underlined.
“Most polling parties take the polling bag from the DCRC (distribution centre and receipt centre) a day before the vote date and leave for their booths. But there are booths where polling parties have to be sent two days before the date of voting. What happens these cases? How can the marked copy be given to them?” another officer asked.
Nineteen tribunals have started functioning from April 12 at the Shyama Prasad Mookerjee-National Institute of Water and Sanitation (SPM-NIWAS) in Calcutta. But it is still not clear whether any of the 27.16 lakh voters — whose names were deleted following adjudication — have been cleared by the tribunals.
The Supreme Court order comes five days before the April 21 deadline for the first phase of polling. Twelve retired judges are leading tribunals for 16 districts set to vote on April 23 for the first phase of polls. These districts have 14.28 lakh names deleted. A source said that the math was clear. “It will be an uphill task for the 12 retired judges to clear names from 14.28 lakh deletions," he said.
Another issue that polling officers raised was how voters, whose names are cleared by the tribunals, will be informed of the development if the supplementary list is published on April 21 night for the April 23 poll.
“All officers will be busy sending polling parties to the booths on April 22. In rural areas, it may not be possible for voters to check their names online. What will happen if all those whose names are deleted reach the booths and demand to vote, instead of only those that the tribunals clear?” asked another officer.