SIR: Out of 60 lakh adjudications, 57 lakh adjudicated; over 25 lakh deleted

Kolkata: Over 25 lakh voters have been deleted from the rolls following scrutiny by judicial officers, even as Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal on Sunday visited sensitive

pockets of Nandigram in East Midnapore to assess the ground situation firsthand ahead of the polls.

According to Election Commission sources, the deletions were part of a large-scale verification exercise, with affected electors allowed to seek redressal before the tribunal.

Officials said that of the 60 lakh cases under adjudication, 57 lakh had been disposed of till Saturday, while around 3 lakh cases are expected to be cleared by Monday.

Eleven supplementary electoral rolls have already been published.

The CEO, who reached East Midnapore on Saturday afternoon, began his field visit early Sunday, travelling across Nandigram and interacting directly with residents. Going door to door, Agarwal asked voters whether they had faced intimidation during polling or in its aftermath.

He also visited areas in Patashpur and Moyna, speaking with locals and inspecting vulnerable booths. Agarwal is slated to return to Kolkata on Sunday evening.

A day earlier, Agarwal had held a marathon meeting with the district’s top administrative and police officials.

Sunday’s visit followed that review, with a focus on confidence-building measures in areas identified as sensitive.

“We will ensure that people do not carry any fear or anxiety in their minds. I will personally visit every place where disturbances had occurred or where there is a possibility of trouble, and I will speak to the common people,” Agarwal said.

For the first phase of elections scheduled across 152 Assembly constituencies on April 23, the last date for filing nominations is March 6 till 3 pm.

The electoral rolls for this phase will also freeze at that time.

Meanwhile, uncertainty over the candidature of Congress nominee Motab Shaikh from Farakka was resolved after the SIR Tribunal ruled in his favour.

While discrepancies were found in records linked to the applicant and his father, the tribunal held there was no legal bar in his own name.

As per the directions of the appellate tribunal, his name is to be included in the supplementary list by 8 pm on Sunday, enabling him to file his nomination on Monday.

Reacting to the development, Trinamool Congress leader Arup Chakraborty questioned whether it would be feasible to adjudicate each of the 25 lakh deleted voters within such a limited timeframe.

“While the case of the Congress candidate may have been treated as a special instance, the pertinent question remains: is it at all feasible to individually adjudicate the cases of each of

the 25 lakh deleted voters within such a limited timeframe?” he said.

He further alleged that the exercise was aimed at disenfranchising legitimate voters.