Will the ECI Address Voter Discrepancies in Bengal?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- ECI to address voter discrepancies this week.
- Around 24 percent of voters registered through progeny mapping face issues.
- Final voters' list set for publication on February 4.
- Transparency is essential for fair elections.
- Trinamool Congress calls for formal communication from ECI.
Kolkata, Jan 6 (NationPress) As the hearing sessions regarding claims and objections to the draft voters' list in West Bengal for the unmapped voters near completion, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to initiate summons this week for cases of logical discrepancies within the draft list. This accounts for 24 percent of the voters registered through progeny mapping.
According to data from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, approximately 3.83 crore voters have been recorded in the draft list via progeny mapping, with 91.46 lakh categorized as logical discrepancy cases.
This indicates that 24.02 percent of those registered through progeny mapping exhibit logical discrepancies in their family-tree data, as per sources within the CEO's office.
In contrast, the self mapping category comprises voters whose names were included in the voters' list back in 2002, while the progeny mapping category consists of individuals whose parents' names appeared in that same list. The previous SIR conducted in West Bengal occurred in 2002.
The count of unmapped voters in the state, whose hearing processes are nearing completion, exceeds 32 lakhs. These unmapped voters are those whose names do not appear in either the self mapping or the progeny mapping categories.
Initially, during the conclusion of the enumeration phase—the first stage of the three-stage SIR exercise—the ECI identified 1.36 crore logical discrepancy cases. However, after a meticulous review of the preliminary list, this figure has decreased to 91.46 lakhs.
The Trinamool Congress has expressed that instead of discreetly leaking information to media personnel regarding such logical discrepancy cases, the Commission should formally announce the details.
The draft voters' list in West Bengal was published on December 16 of last year, with the final voters' list scheduled for release on February 4. Following this release, the Commission will declare the polling dates for the pivotal Assembly elections in the state this year.