The Election Commission of India is visiting West Bengal to review preparedness for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, held a detailed and comprehensive review of poll preparedness for the upcoming West Bengal Legislative Assembly Elections in Kolkata on Mondaythe first day of the trip.
The Commission has already visited poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The terms of the Assemblies in all these states end between May and June. The West Bengal Assembly’s term gets over on 7 May, Tamil Nadu’s on 10 May, Assam’s on 20 May, Kerala’s on 23 May, and Puducherry’s on 15 June.
When will EC announce West Bengal election dates?
The Election Commission usually announces dates of elections a day or two after its visit to review preparedness in poll-bound states. Since West Bengal is the last election-bound state the poll panel is visiting, the dates can be announced at any time after the CEC-led team returns from West Bengal on 10 March.
During the poll panel’s meeting with political parties on Monday, the state’s Opposition parties have reportedly demanded fewer than three phases for the upcoming West Bengal elections. West Bengal has 294 seats. The ruling Trinamool Congress is learned to have raised concerns over the recently concluded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demanded “full proof” of the process and “full compliance with the Supreme Court order”.
The BJP delegation demanded that the Assembly election be held in a single phase or at most two phases, instead of the long-drawn seven to eight phases spanning over six weeks, a report in the Indian Express said. The saffron party also called on the poll panel to ensure ‘violence-free’ polls in the state. The party also submitted a 16-point charter to the EC, highlighting security concerns, among others.
The CPI(M) demanded a single-phase election, arguing that holding elections in multiple phases allows “movement of anti-social elements” to move across constituencies, potentially affecting the fairness of the electoral process. The state CPI(M) secretary, Mohammed Salim, was quoted by the Indian Express as saying that if a single-phase election is unfeasible, the process should not extend beyond two phases.
Since 2011, Assembly elections in West Bengal have been held over at least five phases. In 2021, the poll panel held elections in eight phases.
The West Bengal election is being seen as a fight between the ruling TMC and the BJP. The TMC, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been in power in West Bengal since 2011.
What happened in the 2021 West Bengal Elections?
The 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election was held in eight phases between 27 March to 29 April to elect all 294 members of the Legislative Assembly.
The incumbent Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee won the election by a landslide, despite opinion polls generally predicting a close race against the Bharatiya Janata Party, which became the official opposition with 77 seats. For the first time in the history of Bengal, no members from the Congress and the Communist Party were elected.
SIR in West Bengal
In the run-up to the assembly polls, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was conducted in all poll-bound states, except Assam, where a Special Revision was conducted due to legal complications related to the unpublished National Register of Citizens.
Following the SIR, the number of voters has gone down in Tamil Nadu (11.55%), Kerala (3.22%), West Bengal (8%) and Puducherry (7.57%).
The state’s Opposition parties have reportedly demanded fewer than three phases for the upcoming West Bengal elections.
While final voter lists have been published in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, and Assam, in West Bengalthe list released on 28 February includes more than 60 lakh voters marked as “adjudication,” whose cases are being decided by court-appointed judicial officers. These voters will be added to the final list once their names are cleared; they can vote in the Assembly polls thereafter.
Key Takeaways
- The Election Commission typically announces election dates following state reviews, with West Bengal’s announcement expected after March 10.
- Political parties are advocating for reduced phases in the election process to ensure fairness and security.
- The upcoming election is crucial, with the TMC and BJP vying for control, marking a significant political contest in West Bengal.
