Kolkata, Jan 2 (NationPress) - The Election Commission of India (ECI) has provided insights into its decision to reject the Trinamool Congress’s request for permitting the party’s booth-level agents to participate in the ongoing hearings concerning claims and objections related to the draft voters’ list in West Bengal.

The hearing sessions are a pivotal aspect of the second phase of the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the state.

A source from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) indicated that if the Trinamool Congress’ appeal for allowing BLAs at these hearings were granted, similar requests from other political entities—including six national parties and two state parties registered with the ECI—would also need to be honored.

This would result in a total of 11 individuals crowding each hearing table, comprising one Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), one Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO), one micro-observer, and eight BLOs from the various political factions.

“Permitting such a large number of individuals at a single hearing table would make it nearly impossible for electoral officials to manage the process. Therefore, allowing BLAs to be present at the hearings is simply not feasible,” clarified the insider from the CEO’s office.

The Trinamool Congress and All India Forward Bloc are among the two state parties registered with the ECI in West Bengal, while the national parties include the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress, CPI (M), Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and National People’s Party (NPP).

However, leadership from the Trinamool Congress contends that the ECI has intentionally denied their plea for BLAs at the hearing, fully aware that other registered parties, particularly the BJP, lack the capacity to provide BLAs for every hearing table.

Nevertheless, sources from the CEO’s office stated that the ECI could not base its operations on the perceived strengths of individual parties regarding the availability of BLAs. “The Commission must enforce consistent rules for all political parties, and these regulations are established based on their practical implications. Thus, the universal rule prohibiting BLAs at the hearing sessions applies equally to all political entities,” the CEO’s office source detailed.

The draft voters' list was made public on December 16, 2025, with the final voters' list set to be released on February 14, 2026. Following this, the ECI will declare the polling dates for the Assembly elections in the state, anticipated for this year.