Kolkata, Jan. 24 -- The Election Commission is facing uncertainty to comply with the Supreme Court's directive to publish the list of voters with data discrepancies by Saturday, as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) did not receive the required software in time, an official said. On January 19, the SC directed the EC to display the names of those on the "logical discrepancies" list and "unmapped" voters at panchayat and block offices. "We did not get the software till Friday night. Even if the software reaches us at the last moment, it will be extremely difficult to download, print and display such a huge volume of data within a few hours," a senior official at the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said. "BLOs are already engaged in the hearing process. Logistically, this is a major challenge," he added.
The list to be published will include those names having data discrepancies as well as "unmapped" voters, totalling around 1.26 crore. Officials said the final-day delay has created uncertainty over complying with the directions. "We have the data, but the field-level execution depends entirely on BLOs," another official said, adding that "meeting the court's timeline may not be feasible under the circumstances". Meanwhile, more than 3 lakh voters categorised as "unmapped" failed to appear for hearings despite being served notices, an official said. "Around 10 per cent of the unmapped voters did not turn up for hearings," he said. To speed up the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the EC has decided to appoint 294 additional senior micro-observers at the assembly segment level, an official said. "The objective is to ensure transparency and faster disposal of pending cases," he said.
A total of 7.62 crore enumeration forms were distributed among voters in the state, and the EC on December 16 published draft electoral rolls, in which over 58 lakh names were deleted, because of deaths, shifting and duplication in entries. Around 1.26 crore voters, whose names are on the draft list, have been issued verification hearing notices because of "logical discrepancies" or their entries not mapped with the 2002 electoral rolls when the last SIR happened. "Logical discrepancies" include incorrect or mismatched fathers' names, voters with more than six children, implausible age differences with parents or grandparents, and people above 45 shown as "new voters", officials said. The hearings are scheduled to conclude on February 7, while the final electoral roll is slated to be published on February 14. The EC has, however, indicated that the deadline may be extended.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.