Trinamool questions Bengal CEO’s campaign for enrolment of deleted eligible, new voters

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, on Tuesday, questioned the announcement by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) intimating people about the beginning of a campaign for enrolment of deleted eligible voters and new or first-time voters in the electoral rolls.

In a social media post issued by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction in the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday afternoon, the party alleged that Monday’s announcement by the CEO’s office was an indirect acceptance that the entire Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was intended at helping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secure seats they could never have dreamt of winning.

“After deleting eligible voters from the electoral rolls before the elections, @ECISVEEP suddenly wants to launch a proactive campaign to ensure that no eligible elector is left out. Where was this proactiveness before the elections? Why was the SIR process in Bengal conducted in such a rushed and unplanned manner?” the Trinamool faction questioned in the social media statement.

The faction also argued that the timing of the announcement to start the proactive campaign raised serious questions about the integrity, fairness, and impartiality of the entire process.

“The ECI must explain these discrepancies and ensure accountability, rather than expect citizens to accept the process without question,” the social media statement read.

“In the name of Logical Discrepancy and botched-up SIR, the ECI took away people’s right to vote, hand in glove with Modi and Shah, to bring an illegitimate government to power. No government can claim legitimacy without public trust in the electoral process that brought it to power. Nothing illegal lasts forever. Neither will the @BJP4Bengal government,” the statement added.

On Monday, the CEO’s office claimed that all 24 District Magistrates (DMs)-cum-District Electoral Officers (DEOs) have started a proactive campaign for enrolment of deleted eligible voters and new or first-time voters in the electoral rolls.

The CEO said that the exercise was meant to ensure that no eligible elector is left out of the electoral rolls and special camps were being held throughout the state to ensure this.

The CEO’s office also advised that if any person has any complaint, he or she should contact the Booth-Level Officer (BLO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) or Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or the DEO-cum-DM concerned.

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