Overview
- Five IAS officers—Kumar Ravi Kant Singh, Niraj Kumar Bansod, Krishna Kumar Nirala, Alok Tiwari and Pankaj Yadav—have been assigned to the Presidency, Medinipur, Burdwan, Malda and Jalpaiguri divisions respectively.
- The appointments raise Special Roll Observer coverage to 17 officers who will coordinate with West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal.
- The draft electoral roll is due on 16 December, the second-stage claims and objections process will follow, and the final roll is scheduled for 14 February 2026, after which election dates are expected to be announced.
- Following opposition requests, the Commission is considering deploying micro observers for the second stage to deter local-level manipulation during notices and verifications.
- Digitisation of forms is nearly complete, with over 55 lakh entries flagged for deletion or verification and a directive in place to intensify ‘progeny’ mapping to fix parental-identity anomalies.