Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti is set to arrive in the state on Monday to conduct a comprehensive review of preparations for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly Elections. He will be accompanied by fellow Election Commission (EC) officials Abhinav Agarwal and S. B. Joshi during the visit.
According to sources, the delegation is likely to travel from Delhi to Andal in West Burdwan, where they will spend the first day assessing ground-level arrangements. On Tuesday, the team is scheduled to visit East Burdwan and Hooghly districts before returning to Kolkata. An urgent review meeting has been planned at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office on Wednesday, following which the officials are expected to return to Delhi the same night.
The visit assumes significance in the light of earlier allegations of negligence during the ‘SIR’ phase, where seven districts were reportedly found lacking in compliance with the Commission’s directives. Among them, East Burdwan, West Burdwan and Hooghly were specifically flagged, prompting the Commission to prioritise inspections in these regions.
With only a few days remaining before the first phase of polling, the Commission is expected to reiterate strict adherence to electoral guidelines and ensure that no untoward incidents disrupt the voting process, particularly in the identified districts. The first phase will cover several constituencies across these regions, making the review crucial for maintaining law and order, and ensuring the smooth conduct of elections.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has released detailed voter data for the first phase, scheduled for April 23. Over 3.60 crore voters across 16 districts have been declared eligible to cast their votes. This includes approximately 1.84 crore male voters, 1.75 crore female voters, and 465 voters from the third gender category.
Among the participating districts, Murshidabad has the highest number of voters at 50.26 lakh, followed by East Medinipur with 41.60 lakh and West Medinipur with 37.70 lakh. At the other end of the spectrum, Kalimpong has the lowest voter count at 2.01 lakh.
In North Bengal, Cooch Behar accounts for 22.63 lakh voters, while Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar have 17.19 lakh and 11.64 lakh voters respectively. Darjeeling has 11.10 lakh voters, with North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur recording 19.68 lakh and 11.59 lakh voters respectively. Malda district has 27.91 lakh voters.
In the western region, Bankura has 29.19 lakh voters, Purulia has 22.52 lakh, and Jhargram has 9.10 lakh voters. Paschim Bardhaman has 19.65 lakh voters, while Birbhum has 26.91 lakh.
An Election Commission official stated that the voter list has been finalised following thorough verification and corrections to ensure accuracy. Authorities have also put in place necessary measures to facilitate the smooth participation of all eligible voters in the democratic process.
The first phase of polling will be conducted across 152 seats, while the second phase, scheduled for April 29, will cover 142 seats. Counting of votes for all phases will take place on May 4.
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