Bengal SIR: ECI likely to seek explanations from EROs, AEROs on unlisted ID proof issue

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering seeking explanations from a section of electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) in West Bengal who accepted identity-proof documents that were not part of the official list during hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list. These actions appear to contravene specific instructions issued by the commission.

The ECI had explicitly listed 13 documents that could be accepted as valid supporting identity-proof for voter registration and had instructed that no other documents should be entertained. District magistrates (DMs) and district electoral officers (DEOs) were also directed to ensure strict compliance with these guidelines.

Despite these clear instructions, multiple instances have emerged in which unlisted documents were accepted by EROs and AEROs. A source from the chief electoral officer’s office said, “This, on one hand, delays the entire Special Intensive Revision process, as voters submitting unlisted documents will have to be summoned again with the correct documents. On the other hand, some vested interests appear to be using this as an opportunity to allege that the Commission is unnecessarily harassing voters.”

The ECI is now contemplating seeking explanations from the officers who disregarded its directives.

The deadline for submitting claims and objections to the draft voters’ list expired on Monday. Hearing sessions are scheduled to continue until 7 February, with the final voters’ list set to be published on 14 February.

To meet these timelines, the Commission has set an ambitious target of completing 7 lakh hearings per day across 6,500 centres in the state.

Following the publication of the final voters’ list, a full bench of the ECI will visit West Bengal, after which the polling dates for the Assembly elections are expected to be announced.

With IANS inputs