Additional 1.5 lakh voters to get hearing call in West Burdwan: DM

More than 1.5 lakh people will be called for hearings over the next one week in connection with logical discrepancies, identified during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in West Burdwan district, said District Magistrate (DM) and District Electoral Officer (DEO) S Ponnamballam on Tuesday.

So far, over 2.77 lakh voters have been issued notices for hearings due to logical discrepancies in the district’s electoral roll.

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A high-level meeting was held at Kalyanpur in Asansol, attended by the Special Roll Observer of West Burdwan district, representatives of all registered political parties, and officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) of Asansol Sadar and Durgapur sub-divisions, Additional District Magistrates (ADMs), all Block Development Officers (BDOs), and other officials of the district election cell were also present.

“So far, around one lakh thirty thousand people have already appeared for hearings related to logical discrepancies in the electoral roll in West Burdwan district. The hearings for the remaining one lakh fifty thousand voters will be completed within the next one week,” the DM said.

Apart from logical discrepancies, hearings are also being conducted for unmapped voters. Of the 1.45 lakh unmapped voters in the district, hearings of one lakh thirty-three thousand have already been completed in Asansol Sadar and Durgapur sub-divisions. The remaining 12,000 voters, who were absent for various reasons, will be given another opportunity to appear, and fresh dates will be announced, Mr Ponnamballam added.

The DM said that all major political parties are being provided weekly updates on the progress of the SIR. Hearings for unmapped voters are almost complete, he said, adding that even those who fail to appear for hearings related to logical discrepancies will be given another chance to submit documents for necessary corrections.

West Burdwan district has nine Assembly constituencies ~ Asansol North, Asansol South, Kulti, Barabani, Raniganj, Jamuria, Pandaveswar, Durgapur East and Durgapur West.

“We have requested all political parties that, if they wish, they may send authorised representatives to attend the hearings, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision,” the DM said.

During the meeting, representatives of the Trinamul Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the Congress alleged that voters were being unnecessarily harassed by the ECI in the name of logical discrepancies.

Out of a total electorate of 23,27,000 voters in West Burdwan district, the names of around 3.06 lakh voters have already been deleted from the draft electoral roll released by the ECI in December last year.