By Thursday evening, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had distributed nearly 95% of the enumeration forms across West Bengal. Forms have already reached 7.27 crore voters, and the Election Commission expects the remaining forms to be delivered within the next two to three days.
Form submission is set to begin from Monday
The Election Commission had fixed 4 November to 4 December as the window for distributing and collecting enumeration forms. According to officials, the work is progressing on schedule. The Commission has repeatedly issued instructions through newspapers, television and social media, urging voters to fill out the forms correctly. Starting Monday, BLOs will begin collecting the filled-in forms from households.
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A new problem during distribution
Sources in the Election Commission say the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal has run into a new challenge during the distribution drive.
In many high- rise buildings, BLOs reportedly received no response, despite multiple visits and attempts to reach residents at their doorsteps. When a voter cannot be contacted despite repeated visits, the BLO must return that voter’s enumeration form to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). Officials say the number of such high-rise residents is not insignificant.
A similar issue is being reported from several slum pockets. BLOs are reaching these areas only to find no trace of the listed residents. In some cases, the app shows that the enumeration form has already been delivered, but in reality, it has not.
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According to Commission sources, the names of all such voters who fail to submit their enumeration forms will not appear in the draft voters’ list scheduled to be published on 9 December.
Next opportunity for corrections
From 9 December to 8 January, those whose names are omitted, whose details contain spelling errors, who need address updates, or who wish to update their photograph will be allowed to submit fresh applications
