Kolkata, Oct 21 (NationPress) In light of the impending announcement regarding the Special Intensive Review (SIR), the West Bengal branch of the BJP has advised its booth-level agents (BLAs) to exercise heightened vigilance concerning Assembly constituencies that have experienced a significant surge in voter numbers over time.

A member of the state committee stated that the party's BLAs have been specifically instructed to be particularly observant during the SIR process, especially in constituencies that have seen a rise of more than 40 percent in voter numbers since 2011, the year marking the end of the 34-year Left Front governance in West Bengal and the onset of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress administration.

The committee member emphasized that, based on standard metrics, an increase of 20 percent to 25 percent in voters within any constituency over the past 15 years is considered typical, taking into account factors like total population, decade-wise population growth, and the ratio of voters to the overall population.

“In some rare instances, voter numbers may even rise by 40 percent, which can be deemed acceptable to an extent. However, any increase exceeding 40 percent in any constituency during this time frame is quite astonishing. Certain constituencies in the North 24 Parganas district on the northern outskirts of Kolkata have reported increases surpassing 70 percent. This is why our BLAs are urged to remain especially alert during the SIR where voter increases exceed 40 percent since 2011,” the committee member noted.

Moreover, the state unit has pinpointed the Assembly constituencies where voter percentage increases have been above 40 percent since 2011, and this information, along with the specific constituency details, has been provided to the respective BLAs.

The BLAs have received training on how to collaborate with the state's electoral officers to facilitate a smooth SIR process, ensuring the removal of names of bogus, deceased, and duplicate voters from the rolls.

“Simultaneously, the BLAs have been instructed to report any irregularities observed, particularly those fostered by any electoral officers during the SIR, to both the party’s state committee and the relevant district electoral authorities. The state committee will escalate such irregularities to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in West Bengal,” the committee member added.