KOLKATA, Dec 2: The Election Commission of India (ECI) expects that roughly 43.30 lakh names will be dropped from West Bengal’s draft voters’ list, scheduled for publication on December 16, based on the current pace of digitising enumeration forms submitted by booth-level officers (BLOs).
Officials in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, cautioned that this is an evolving estimate. Since the projection reflects the digitisation status only till Monday evening, the exclusion figure may rise as more forms are processed.
West Bengal’s electorate, according to the roll updated on October 27, stands at 7,66,37,529.
According to senior CEO office functionaries, the bulk of the names marked for exclusion, around 21.45 lakh, are deceased voters. Another 5.5 lakh electors have been categorised as untraceable.
The number of voters identified as having shifted out of their registered address is around 15.10 lakh, while the count of bogus or fake entries is estimated at just under one lakh.
Officials added that the tally of untraceable voters could shift as some individuals may be located during verification.
The BJP has questioned how such a large number of booths could have entirely clean rolls and has sought a re-examination of the enumeration forms collected from these locations.
Amid these concerns, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had urged the ECI to conduct an audit of the entries recorded during the state’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for the three dates of November 26, 27, and 28.
These days saw a surge in activity, with 1.25 crore enumeration form entries logged, an unprecedented volume, prompting demands for a closer look at the process. (UNI)
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