CEO sets Sept 8 deadline for parties’ feedback on booth rationalisation

Kolkata: Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal on Friday set a September 8 deadline, up to 5 pm, for all political parties to submit their opinions or objections regarding the ongoing election booth rationalisation exercise in the state.

The CEO convened a meeting with all political parties at his office, based on reports on booth rationalisation submitted by the district electoral officers (DEOs) across the state.

Presently, there are 80,681 booths in the state, and 13,816 more may be added based on the booth rationalisation report received from the DEOs.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently decided to reduce the number of voters per polling station from 1,500 to 1,200 across the country, which prompted the exercise.

“We have no objection on principle regarding the reduction of voters from 1500 to 1200 in a particular booth. But the poll panel should ensure that a voter of a particular booth gets the facility to cast his/ her franchise in the same premises where he/ she has been voting. It should be ensured that a voter does not have to go elsewhere for voting,” said Trinamool Congress leader Aroop Biswas after the meeting.

Though Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was not on the agenda of the meeting, but TMC informed the CEO that they are against the exercise in Bengal.

The TMC delegation at the CEO office consisted of Biswas, MP Partha Bhowmik and minister Pulak Roy.

BJP leader Sisir Bajoria alleged that all the DEOs have informed the CEO office that the political parties have no objection to booth rationalization which is totally false.

The Congress leadership informed about the alleged vandalism of its state office in Moulali by the BJP on

Friday morning.

The CEO, after receipt of objections from the political parties, will forward the same to the DEOs for their respective observations, and then will take a final call on the booth

rationalisation .