TMC: lakhs of voter hearings impossible before deadline

Kolkata: A Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation on Wednesday evening met West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal and objected to the large-scale issuance of hearing notices under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process on grounds of “logical discrepancy”.

The delegation claimed that around 94.5 lakh electors across the state had been identified for hearings, making it impossible to complete the exercise within the February 1 deadline. “The Commission is summoning lakhs of electors in the name of logical discrepancy. Even if hearings are conducted for 100 voters per day, the process cannot be completed within the stipulated time,” said TMC leader Partha Bhowmik, who was accompanied by Shashi Panja, Birbaha Hansda, Pulak Roy and Seuli Saha, who submitted a deputation seeking safeguards to protect voters’ rights. The delegation alleged that multiple deaths linked to SIR-related stress had occurred, including that of Samprita Chowdhury Sanyal, a Booth Level Officer from Englishbazar in Malda. They also claimed that a sick woman died after attending a hearing recently.

The leaders said they had sought home hearings for elderly, sick and specially abled voters, alleging poor implementation at the ground level. According to them, the CEO assured that instructions would be reinforced and publicised.

The delegation also demanded virtual hearings for electors outside West Bengal and sought alternate arrangements for long-term residents lacking full documentation, saying voting rights should not be denied on that ground.

On logical discrepancies, the TMC said 40,000–50,000 voters per constituency could be summoned for hearings, despite assurances that minor spelling errors would not attract notices.

Separately, Assistant Programme Officers, many of whom function as AEROs, have written to the CEO warning that the process is unworkable. In a letter issued under the banner of the Assistant Programme Officers’ Welfare Association, West Bengal, they said each AERO had been assigned 3,000–4,000 logical discrepancy cases, in addition to “no mapping” cases. With January largely consumed by “no mapping” hearings, the officers said it would be impossible to complete verification of logical discrepancy cases by the February 7, 2025 deadline without compromising due process.