SIR in Bengal: ECI team to review district-wise mapping on Wednesday

Kolkata, Oct 7 (IANS) An Election Commission of India (ECI) team will review the progress of the district-wise Assembly constituency mapping in West Bengal during a meeting at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) here on Wednesday.

This is meant to review preparedness for the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.

In case of any lack of progress in the district-wise Assembly constituency mapping in any particular district or districts, the members of the central ECI team will seek explanations from the District Magistrates, as well as the District Electoral Officers, insiders from the CEO’s office said.

“Considering that district-wise Assembly constituency mapping is an important constituent in obtaining the ground-level reality to effectively carry out the SIR process, the Commission is giving special emphasis on the issue of proper mapping. Another crucial issue that will be taken up at the meeting on Wednesday will be the complaints on irregularities in booth-level officers’ selections in at least 2,000 booths in certain districts,” a CEO’s office insider said.

The meeting will be chaired by the Deputy Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Bharti, ECI’s Director General (Information Technology), and other senior officials of the Commission, the CEO of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, top officials from the CEO’s office, and all senior district-level electoral officials.

However, the District Magistrates and their subordinate electoral officers from North Bengal have been exempted from attending the meeting on Wednesday, because of their preoccupations with the relief, rescue, and rehabilitation operations amid the ongoing crisis in the hills, Terai, and Dooars areas following heavy rainfall and landslides.

It has been decided that the central ECI team and the CEO of the state will hold a virtual meeting separately with the District Magistrates and their subordinate officials from these districts later in the month, once the situation in those districts becomes normal.

The central ECI team will reach Kolkata on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, they will conduct the crucial review meeting, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. On October 9, the team of senior ECI officials is expected to visit certain districts and interact directly with the district-level electoral officials.

--IANS

src/dpb