Election Commission to release final voters' list of Bengal in January

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will release the final voters' list of West Bengal early next month, a senior official said on Saturday.

Once the list is published, the poll panel will send its full bench to the state, he said, adding that communications have been sent to the chief secretary and chief electoral officer (CEO) asking them to start preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.

"The final list will be published early next month followed by the visit of the full bench of ECI to the state. We have directed the chief secretary and CEO of West Bengal to start preparations for the 2024 general elections," he told PTI.

A top bureaucrat said the poll panel has directed the chief secretary to prepare a list of administrative officials (IAS officers) and police officers (IPS and WBPS) detailing their current postings and the duration of their stay in the particular position.

"Preparing lists of IAS and IPS officers mentioning their current postings before any election is routine. We have already started working on that. Once complete, we will share it with the ECI," the bureaucrat added.

Meanwhile, the election cell of Kolkata Police has directed all its stations to submit reports on law and order in their respective jurisdictions, a senior officer said.

A 21-page instruction has been sent to each police station asking them to provide details on cases filed, their characteristics and how many were solved, he said.

"Police stations have been directed to submit reports on the number of polling booths in their jurisdictions and how many are earmarked as sensitive. They have also been asked to mention whether there were any political clashes," he added.

According to the Kolkata Police officer, the process to collect information is a routine exercise before any election.

"Depending on the report which will be sent to the poll panel, the election body will review the situation and decide on the next step. This is done before every election," he said.