The Election Commission of India (ECI) held a crucial three-hour meeting focused solely on West Bengal, directing district officials to expedite poll preparedness, act against absentee staff, and ensure fair elections across the state.
Strict orders to DEOs, camps set up in flood-hit north Bengal
In a high-level meeting that lasted over three hours, the Election Commission reviewed the progress of election work in West Bengal. All District Election Officers (DEOs) were instructed to complete meetings with political parties by tomorrow and brief them on guidelines to ensure smooth and transparent polling.
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Special camps have been set up in Darjeeling, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar for flood-affected residents who lost their identity documents. The Commission will provide duplicate certificates and papers to enable their inclusion in the electoral process.
Sources within the Commission confirmed that the form generation process has already begun. In several districts, printing of enumeration forms has been completed, and the entire exercise is expected to finish within the next two days.
Two BLOs removed, strict warning to absentee staff
So far, two Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been removed after complaints were received that they were also holding posts in political parties, a clear violation of election conduct norms.
The Commission noted that several BLOs appointed since April had refused to take charge or attend training sessions. While most have now joined duty, a few remain absent. The ECI has directed Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal to suspend 143 such officials and initiate a departmental inquiry if they fail to report by 12 noon tomorrow.
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Senior officials from the National Election Commission personally spoke with every DEO during Wednesday’s meeting, instructing them on detailed procedures for poll readiness and voter enumeration.
