Overview
- The Election Commission and the West Bengal CEO’s office dismissed police complaints naming the CEC and state CEO as premeditated, unsubstantiated and intimidatory, pledging legal recourse and continuity of the SIR process.
- Relatives of two elderly voters who received hearing notices—identified in reports as Durjan Majhi of Purulia and Jamat Ali Sekh of Howrah—filed complaints holding top poll officials responsible for their deaths.
- After a two‑and‑a‑half‑hour meeting in Delhi, a TMC delegation led by Abhishek Banerjee alleged “vote chori” via voter lists and said key queries went unanswered, as the EC cautioned the party to prevent any intimidation of EROs, AEROs, BLOs and observers and flagged reports of disrupted hearings.
- Official data show 58.2 lakh provisional deletions in West Bengal’s draft roll and about 1.36 crore entries flagged for logical discrepancies, with the CEO reporting 1,74,459 inclusion requests and 37,781 exclusion objections filed directly by electors and only eight party submissions by December 31.
- Operational measures include a December 27 exemption for roughly 1.3 lakh voters affected by a 2002-roll online glitch and guidance allowing those 85+ or sick or with disabilities to avoid in‑person hearings on request, as senior EC officials reviewed proceedings in Howrah and daily SIR bulletins continue through January 22.