Election – Congress Plans 24-Hour Sit-In Over Voter Roll Revision

Election –  The West Bengal unit of the Congress party has announced a fresh round of protests in Kolkata, intensifying its campaign against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Sit-In Announced Outside Chief Electoral Officer’s Office

The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) will stage a 24-hour sit-in demonstration beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday in front of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata. The move is part of the party’s broader agitation, which centers on concerns about the preparation of what it describes as an accurate and error-free voter list.

State Congress President Subhankar Sarkar said the protest is aimed at drawing attention to alleged discrepancies that have emerged during the revision process. According to him, the party has consistently maintained that no eligible voter should lose the right to vote due to administrative lapses and that no ineligible names should be included in the rolls.

Concerns Over Special Intensive Revision Process

The Special Intensive Revision, which began on November 4 last year, is intended to update and correct the electoral rolls before the Assembly elections. However, Sarkar alleged that the manner in which the process has been carried out over the past four months has created anxiety among voters.

He claimed that several genuine voters have faced difficulties during verification and scrutiny. The Congress leader expressed apprehension that a substantial number of names could be removed from the voter list if the current approach continues.

Sarkar stated that the party’s position has remained unchanged since the beginning of the exercise: every eligible citizen must retain their voting rights, and the process must remain transparent and legally sound.

Questions Raised on ‘Logical Discrepancies’

The state Congress leadership has also raised objections to what it described as the use of “logical discrepancies” as grounds for hearing and review. Sarkar said that over one crore voters have reportedly been subjected to scrutiny based on such criteria.

He questioned the legal basis of these discrepancies and suggested that their application could lead to arbitrary decisions. According to him, the validity of certain aspects of the revision has already come under judicial scrutiny.

Sarkar further claimed that the courts have had to step in on multiple occasions in response to decisions taken during the revision process, though he did not elaborate on specific cases.

Key Demands Ahead of Final Publication

As part of its ongoing agitation, the Congress has placed several demands before the authorities. Among them is the timely publication of the final voter list under the Special Intensive Revision on February 28.

The party has also insisted that no genuine voter should be excluded solely on the basis of so-called logical discrepancies. It has emphasized that the statutory powers of electoral registration officers must not be curtailed during the process.

Additionally, the Congress has called for all applications submitted through Forms 6, 7 and 8 — which relate to inclusion, deletion and correction of entries in the electoral roll — to be addressed through proper hearings. The party has sought a fresh schedule and clear guidelines for voters who may have been left out inadvertently.

According to Sarkar, any rectification process must be completed before the nomination phase of the Assembly elections begins, so that affected voters are not deprived of their franchise at a crucial stage.

Political Temperature Rises Before Assembly Polls

With the West Bengal Assembly elections approaching, the voter list revision has emerged as a politically sensitive issue. The Congress has indicated that it will expand its protest programme in the coming days if its concerns are not addressed.

The sit-in on Friday is expected to draw party workers and supporters from different districts, underlining the importance the party attaches to the integrity of the electoral rolls.