Kolkata, Oct 28 (PTI) West Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Tuesday said not a single genuine elector's name would be struck off the voters' list following the completion of the Special
Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
He assured that the list would be 100 per cent fair and transparent.
"I would like to assure you that not a single legitimate voter's name would be excluded from the list. We are hopeful that it would be a 100 per cent fair voter list," Agarwal told reporters.
He was talking to reporters following an all-party meeting at the CEO office here.
The Bengal CEO said currently there are 7,66,37,529 voters in the state.
"We didn't have time in Bihar for the SIR of electoral rolls. We have got time in Bengal. So, there's no opportunity to create any confusion. The increase in voters compared to 2002 is normal. Many people's names have been transferred," he said.
Elaborating the process, Agarwal said from November 4, the survey will begin door-to-door in Bengal.
"Enumeration forms will be distributed door-to-door. The BLOs will go door-to-door to collect information. All data will be available on the BLOs' app. It will be compared with the voter list from 2002. Each voter will have a separate QR code," he said.
The CEO stated that if one's parent's name is in the voter list from 2002, there is no cause for concern.
"However, if any person's name is missing from the voter's list following the revision of electoral rolls, a notice will be sent and a hearing will be held," he stated.
Agarwal also said in case of any confusion, there would be a help desk in each district to resolve issues.
Talking about the all party meeting, the Bengal CEO said all political parties have assured of cooperation.
On security of Booth Level Officers (BLO), Agarwal said, "Law and order is the state subject. State will provide all security for the BLOs. If any situation arises, we will take action accordingly."
To a query whether it would be possible to complete the SIR process within a month, Agarwal said, "Every booth has around 900 to 1000 voters or 200-300 families. Almost all BLOs are local residents of that area. So, they will easily reach all the families within a month."
"The entire machinery of the Election Commission (EC) is geared up and fully prepared for SIR. We already have done table exercise and mapping and matching. We are also optimistic that all political parties will cooperate with us in the process."
He declined to give a statement on the political parties' reactions. He only said, "EC already said everything in their guidelines and the announcements."
The CEO said political parties were requested to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist the BLOs in the SIR of electoral rolls. PTI SCH MNB
