What is the Deadline for Submitting Claims and Objections to the Draft Voters' List in Bengal?
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Kolkata, Jan 19 (NationPress) The final day for submitting claims and objections concerning the draft voters' list in West Bengal is today.
The deadline applies to Forms 6 (for including new voters), 7 (for removing names of deceased voters or others), and 8 (for changes in Assembly constituency or voter address).
Originally, the deadline was set for January 15 but has been extended to today. Hearings on claims and objections will run until February 7, with the final voters' list expected to be published on February 14.
As the deadline approaches, the Commission aims to handle 700,000 hearings a day across 6,500 centers statewide.
As of Sunday, the Commission had registered 900,128 applications for Form-6, and 141,847 applications for Form-7, according to sources in the Chief Electoral Officer's office in West Bengal.
Interestingly, this data contradicts the claims made by the Trinamool Congress regarding a significant number of living voters being incorrectly marked as deceased.
The Commission's records show that the Trinamool Congress has filed only 13 applications for deceased voters, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has submitted just one.
The final voters' list is due on February 14, after which the full Commission will visit West Bengal. Subsequently, the Election Commission of India is anticipated to announce polling dates for the critical Assembly elections in the state.
Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah mentioned in a media interaction in Kolkata that polling and counting are expected to conclude by the end of April this year.