Bengal polls: Voter list frozen amid delay in SIR tribunals; two names restored after SC nod

KOLKATA: Out of the 27 lakh names deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal following adjudication, only two have been restored so far, both following intervention by the Supreme Court, even as the final voter list was frozen as per rules, officials said on Friday.

The voter list was frozen, though the proposed 19 tribunals, meant to hear appeals against deletions, were yet to become operational.

Poll panel officials said that more than two lakh applications seeking hearings before the tribunals had been filed online till Thursday. However, the CEO's office did not say anything officially about this.

The two individuals who got their names back on the electoral rolls are Mahatab Shaikh, the Congress candidate from Farakka, and former MLA Mottakin Alam, who has since filed his nomination as a Congress candidate from Manikchak after his name was reinstated.

With no clarity on the functioning of the tribunals, expected to be set up at central government premises near Kolkata, anxious voters continued to queue up at offices of Block Development Officers (BDOs) and District Magistrates (DMs) across the state, carrying documents and seeking guidance.

“We have submitted documents multiple times, but there is no clarity on whether applying online will be enough,” a voter said outside a district office.

Another applicant added, “People are worried as polling dates are approaching and hearings have not begun.” According to a poll body official, preparatory work was underway at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation, where one of the tribunals is proposed to be set up, but operations had not yet started.

“Work has progressed, but the tribunal is not functional yet. It may take another day or two,” the official said.

In a move seen as an attempt to streamline coordination, a senior IAS officer was appointed on April 7 as an additional chief electoral officer to act as a single-point interface between the Election Commission, the Calcutta High Court and the tribunals.

The voter list for the first phase of polling on April 23 was frozen on April 6, marking the deadline for inclusion in that phase. The same list for the second phase, scheduled for April 29, was also frozen on Thursday.