Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) will this month release the list of private housing complexes in West Bengal where temporary polling booths will be set up for the crucial Assembly elections in the state scheduled later this year.
Insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that a total of 78 housing complexes with multiple towers have been identified for setting up temporary polling booths for the Assembly elections this year, and the list is scheduled to be released February 25.
The West Bengal government and the ruling Trinamool Congress have been opposing the idea of setting up polling booths at housing complexes since the beginning. The contention of the state government and the ruling party has been that setting up polling booths would also require temporarily accommodating Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel within the same housing complexes, which might cause inconvenience to the residents.
In one of her letters to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also objected to the Commission’s proposal to set up polling booths at housing complexes.
However, the Commission has its own argument in favour of setting up polling booths at such complexes. According to the ECI, the move will provide relief to residents of the complexes, especially senior citizen voters, from travelling longer distances to the nearest polling booth to cast their votes.
Tuesday, the ECI announced the revised schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. Under the revised schedule, the process of hearing sessions on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list in West Bengal will be completed February 21, and the final voters’ list will be published February 28.
March 1, the full Bench of the ECI will arrive for a two-day visit to West Bengal to take stock of the post-SIR scenario in the state. Shortly thereafter, the Commission is expected to announce the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections scheduled later this year.
