Overview
- Families of two elderly voters in Purulia and Howrah filed police complaints naming CEC Gyanesh Kumar and state CEO Manoj Agarwal after the men died following SIR hearing notices.
- The Election Commission and the West Bengal CEO’s office dismissed the complaints as unsubstantiated, warned against intimidation of electoral staff, and said legal follow-up would seek to expose any conspiracy.
- A 10-member TMC delegation led by Abhishek Banerjee met the full Commission in Delhi, alleging “vote chori” via 1.36 crore voters flagged for “logical discrepancies” and signalling a court challenge if the final roll contains errors.
- The delegation pressed for doorstep hearings for seniors and the ailing, transparency on deletions, and access for party BLAs at SIR hearings, while the EC said voter facilitation steps were in progress.
- Administrative moves included a Dec. 27 waiver for about 1.3 lakh voters missing online from 2002 rolls due to a glitch, an order letting those 85+ and certain sick or disabled voters avoid in-person hearings on request, and senior EC officials’ field review in Howrah.