Kolkata: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday did not clarify the fate of nearly 60 lakh electors whose eligibility remains “under adjudication” if the Assembly election schedule is announced before the process is completed.
Kumar also refrained from indicating the number of phases for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, saying the decision would depend on an assessment of the law and order situation.
Amid speculation that the poll schedule could be announced within days, the CEC was asked whether the Election Commission could proceed if the cases of the 60 lakh electors were not disposed of by judicial officers appointed under Supreme Court orders.
The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that around 10.6 lakh cases have been disposed of so far, with electors either found eligible and retained on the electoral roll or declared ineligible and removed.
Kumar was also asked whether those whose cases remain pending would be allowed to vote through tendered votes once polling is held.
He did not give a specific answer, saying the process was being conducted in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.
“The adjudication process is taking place under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India and is being carried out by the Calcutta High Court. Judicial officers are conducting the verification and we will follow the directions of the Supreme Court. Names will be included in the electoral rolls once verified by the judicial officers,” he said.
On publication of a supplementary list, Kumar said the judges involved would prepare the list as per the apex court’s directions and it would also be published on the Commission’s website.
Notably, on February 20, the court directed judicial officers to decide the cases and asked the Commission to publish supplementary lists, which would form part of the final electoral roll published on February 28. So far, however, no supplementary list has been published.
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday wrote to the CEC and the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer seeking daily publication of supplementary electoral rolls reflecting the status of SIR adjudication cases.
“The Hon’ble Supreme Court has directed that the supplementary electoral rolls incorporating the outcomes of adjudication must be published on a daily basis to ensure transparency and enable voters and stakeholders to remain informed of the status of claims and objections,” Banerjee wrote.
Kumar said the full Election Commission bench, during its three-day visit to West Bengal, received inputs from stakeholders, including political parties, on poll preparedness. The team will return to New Delhi on Tuesday evening and review the ground situation before announcing the poll schedule.
Responding to queries on why Maharashtra, which has 288 Assembly constituencies, held a single-phase election, while West Bengal witnessed eight phases in the 2021 polls, Kumar said the number of phases depends largely on the law and order situation.
“It all depends on the condition of law and order in the state. In West Bengal also we will follow the same procedure,” he said, adding that most political parties have demanded either a single-phase or two-phase election.
On deployment of micro-observers during hearings in Bengal, Kumar said the step was taken because many cases remained undecided at the level of Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), requiring stringent document verification.
The CEC stressed that strict measures would be taken to ensure peaceful and fair elections.
“All agencies have been asked to enforce the rule of law without fear or favour and to act with complete impartiality,” Kumar added.