Ahead of the hearing of the remaining 1.32 crore voters listed under “logical discrepancies” in West Bengal’s electoral rolls, the Election Commission has decided to deploy 294 Senior micro observers from neighbouring states to accelerate the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The move follows recent directions from the Supreme Court to ensure timely completion of voter list verification.
According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the hearings are expected to begin in the coming days. To strengthen monitoring and ensure accuracy, the Senior micro observers are being brought in from Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Each observer will be posted in one of the state’s 294 Assembly constituencies.
In this connection, West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, has written to his counterparts in the three neighbouring states, requesting the deputation of 294 officers as senior micro observers. As per instructions from the Election Commission of India, these officers are scheduled to arrive in Bengal on January 26 after which they will begin working alongside Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) at the constituency level.
The senior micro observers will oversee scrutiny under the SIR process and assist in preparing an accurate and error-free voter list. Earlier, around 2,000 micro observers were already appointed within the state to verify documents submitted by voters at designated hearing centres.
However, the SIR process has faced operational hurdles. The CEO’s office had sought support from the state government for the deployment of data entry operators, but an insufficient number was provided, causing delays. Following the Supreme Court’s intervention, the state government has now been directed to ensure adequate manpower for the process.
Given the limited time available and the volume of pending work, the Commission has opted to bring in senior officials from outside the state rather than rely solely on state machinery.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues over the publication of the logical discrepancy lists, which the Supreme Court ordered to be made public by Saturday. Officials in the CEO’s office indicated that not all district electoral officers have finalised their lists yet, raising questions over whether the deadline can be met uniformly across the state.
Adding to the challenges, hearings in Farakka, Murshidabad, were disrupted on Friday following an incident of vandalism, forcing authorities to suspend proceedings. In response, the Commission directed the Murshidabad District Magistrate to lodge an FIR in connection with the incident.
Also read: WB minister Shashi Panja receives SIR notice
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