Bengal SIR: ECI team in Kolkata to review preparedness, BLO recruitment

Kolkata, Oct 8 (IANS) A team of the Election Commission of India (ECI) led by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti will review the preparedness of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal on Wednesday at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

Other crucial issues to be discussed in the meeting include allegations of rampant irregularities in the selection of booth-level officers (BLOs) in certain districts, and the district-wise Assembly constituency mapping, among others.

The irregularities in the selection of BLOs had been a contentious issue in West Bengal for quite some time, following allegations that contractual state government employees were selected as the BLOs for about 2,000 booths in certain districts without the concurrence from the CEO’s office, which violated the ECI-mandated norms for BLO selection.

The meeting is expected to last approximately three hours. The central ECI team reached Kolkata on Tuesday night.

The meeting, to be chaired by Bharti, will also be attended by ECI’s Director General (Information Technology), Seema Khanna, and other senior officials of the Commission, the CEO of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, top officials from the CEO’s office, and all senior district-level electoral officials.

However, the District Magistrates (also District Electoral Officers) and their subordinate electoral officers from the North Bengal district have been exempted from attending the meeting on Wednesday, because of their preoccupations with the relief, rescue, and rehabilitation operations amid the ongoing crisis in the hills, Terai, and Dooars areas in North Bengal following heavy rainfall and landslides.

The Commission will have a separate virtual meeting with the electoral officers of these North Bengal districts later this month once the situation becomes normal in the region.

Later in the day, during the post-lunch session, Bharti and his accompanying members in the central ECI team will hold a virtual meeting with the District Magistrates (District Electoral Officers and their subordinate electoral officers in the district.

On Thursday morning, the central ECI team will be visiting Kolaghat in the East Midnapore district and will hold a similar meeting with the electoral officers of that district.

--IANS

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