Overview
- On January 10, the Election Commission named four additional Special Roll Observers to reinforce the claims-and-objections phase, saying the aim is to include all eligible voters and exclude ineligible entries.
- Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in her latest letter to the CEC, alleged the SIR prioritizes deletions, causes harassment, and overlooks migrant workers’ needs, citing reported distress figures that opposition leaders dispute.
- An Assistant Electoral Registration Officer in Bagnan resigned on January 8, citing ‘logical discrepancies’ linked to legacy data conversion and progeny mapping errors that he warned could disenfranchise marginalized voters.
- BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi defended the SIR as a constitutional, technical process, and LoP Suvendu Adhikari urged the EC to continue the exercise, while noting the Commission’s nod to accept tea garden and cinchona plantation records in specified districts.
- ECI figures indicate roughly 58 lakh deletions so far, including around 24 lakh identified deceased, with hearings ongoing and the final roll scheduled for publication on February 14.