EC to Establish Polling Stations in 57 High-Rise Buildings Across West Bengal
A senior Election Commission official announced on Wednesday that polling stations will be set up in 57 additional residential high-rise buildings across multiple districts in West Bengal. This initiative aims to facilitate voting access for residents during the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state.
Targeted Districts and Initial Proposals
The new polling stations will be located in high-rise buildings across Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and East Burdwan. Earlier, the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office had sent a list of 78 residential high-rises with at least 300 to 500 voters to the Election Commission for consideration.
"Of these 78 high-rises, 21 already had polling stations on their premises. We will set up polling stations in the remaining 57 high-rises this time," the official stated. The Commission will send proposals for establishing these polling booths through District Election Officers to ensure proper implementation.
Booth Rationalization Put on Hold
However, booth rationalization across Bengal has been temporarily suspended because the final voter lists are not yet available. According to the Election Commission's revised schedule, a decision regarding booth rationalization was supposed to be made by February 25.
The final electoral roll publication deadline is February 28, but this list is expected to exclude over 60 lakh names initially. The Supreme Court has entrusted judicial officers with the responsibility of scrutinizing documents and making final disposals for these cases.
Supreme Court Directive and Supplementary Lists
In an order passed on Tuesday, the Supreme Court stated that if verification exercises for the 'logical discrepancy/unmapped category' remain incomplete by February 28, the Election Commission may publish the final list followed by supplements. "Such supplements shall be published on a continuous basis as soon as the pending exercise is completed in part or in full," the order clarified.
"Since the number of voters is not yet finalized and will not be on Feb 28, as the supplementary lists will be published then as directed by the Supreme Court, reorganization of polling stations is not taking place. Only 57 additional booths will be added for high-rise buildings," an official explained.
Current Booth Statistics and Future Considerations
West Bengal currently has 80,681 polling booths. Before the Special Summary Revision began, there was a need to create approximately 14,000 additional booths based on voter numbers. The Commission has also noted the potential for reorganization due to over 58 lakh names being excluded from the draft SIR list.
The Commission previously indicated that new booths would be created if there were more than 1,200 voters at a location. However, as the Special Summary Revision work remains incomplete, calculations regarding how many voters were added or removed are not currently available. Consequently, the Commission has decided that the previous booth arrangement will remain in place for the time being.
