Kolkata, March 17 A delegation from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) met with the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, on Tuesday, raising concerns about discrepancies in voter data and the delay in the publication of the supplementary electoral roll.
The delegation, which included TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Partha Bhowmick, along with state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, met the CEO in the evening and later addressed the media.
Moitra expressed concerns about conflicting voter figures, stating, "On February 28, when the final electoral roll was published, the number of voters in West Bengal was stated to be over 7,04,59,000.
"However, on March 15, when the Election Commission announced the poll dates, the number of voters was stated to be 6,44,52,609. How can there be two different figures?" Moitra asked.
She further questioned the transparency of the process, asking, "Who are the voters included in the list and who have been excluded? We have sought clarification on this from the CEO."
The TMC leaders also pressed for a timeline on the publication of the supplementary electoral roll, particularly concerning nearly 60 lakh voters whose names are currently under adjudication.
Bhattacharya said, "We have asked when the complete supplementary voter list will be published and when the fate of these under-adjudication voters will be decided, especially since the nomination process is approaching fast."
According to the delegation, officials indicated that a supplementary list may be released by Friday or Saturday, but no clarity was given on when the entire list would be published.
The TMC also alleged that directions of the Supreme Court were not being fully implemented and that there was a lack of coordination with the High Court.
Earlier in the day, the CEO and Election Commission officials held a meeting with a high-level committee constituted by the Supreme Court, in the presence of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujay Paul and special observer Subrata Gupta.
Gupta later told reporters, "The supplementary list will be published on Friday or Saturday. Around 20 lakh names have been resolved."