BJP seeks fewer poll phases, polling booths in high-rise complexes in memorandum to ECI

A delegation of the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday submitted a detailed memorandum to the Election Commission of India (ECI), demanding key changes in the conduct of the upcoming elections in the state, including holding the polls in fewer phases and setting up polling stations within large high-rise residential complexes.
The three-member delegation — comprising Sisir Bajoria, Tapas Roy and Jagannath Chattopadhyay — presented the demands before the full bench of the ECI during its visit to the state.

In its memorandum, the party urged the poll panel to conduct the election in a single phase or, at the most, two phases within a short time span instead of the “long drawn 7–8 phases over six weeks” that have been seen in the past.

Advertisement

The BJP argued that reducing the number of phases would help curb violence and ensure better administrative control during the election process.
Another major demand made by the party concerns polling arrangements in high-rise residential complexes. The BJP requested that polling stations be set up within the premises of large multi-storey housing complexes as per ECI norms on a mandatory basis.
The memorandum alleged that in previous elections, local police stations had often obtained refusal letters from such complexes, preventing the establishment of polling booths there and forcing residents to vote elsewhere.

The BJP also called for a ban on the West Bengal Police Welfare Organisation, alleging that it functions as a frontal outfit of the ruling party in the state and exerts pressure on police personnel.

According to the memorandum, the organisation allegedly coerces police staff into surrendering their ballot papers and issues unofficial instructions that influence election-related activities. The party demanded that the organisation be banned and its offices sealed.

On polling day procedures, the BJP proposed the introduction of a two-stage voter identification system. Under the proposal, voters would first be verified by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel stationed outside the polling station before being checked again inside by the presiding or polling officers.
The party said this would help prevent impersonation and bogus voting.
The memorandum also recommended that agents of political parties should sit outside the room where polling is conducted rather than inside it, which it claimed is the practice in West Bengal.

According to the BJP, such a measure would help maintain order inside polling rooms and prevent undue influence during the voting process.
In addition, the party demanded that every polling station be supervised exclusively by CAPF personnel, without the presence of state or city police or volunteers in any capacity, including for queue management.
It also suggested that polling officers should comprise an equal mix of state and central government employees to maintain neutrality.

Other recommendations included deploying CAPF well in advance for area domination and confidence-building measures, identifying sensitive booths based on past incidents of violence or unusually high turnout, installing webcams at polling stations, and conducting counting only in district and sub-divisional headquarters under strict supervision.
However, representatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the issue of SIR did not come up during their meeting with the Election Commission of India and that the discussion was limited to the overall election situation in the state.

“We did not discuss SIR. A case on the matter is pending before the Supreme Court of India, and whatever decision the court takes, we will be bound to accept it. Today’s meeting focused only on the election. We conveyed our