Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti To Visit Bengal Next Week For Key Poll Review Ahead Of SIR Drive

Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti plans to visit West Bengal next week to evaluate preparations for the Special Intensive Revision drive, the Organiser reported.

The visit focuses on ensuring the smooth execution of electoral roll updates before the 2026 Assembly elections.

Bharti will meet senior Election Commission of India officials in Kolkata to discuss logistics and address potential challenges.

Officials confirmed the itinerary includes inspections of district-level setups in key areas like North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas.

Bharti's agenda includes virtual conferences with chief electoral officers from neighboring states to coordinate cross-border voter verifications. The SIR initiative, mandated under the Representation of the People Act, involves biometric updates for 2 million new voters aged 18-19 in Bengal.

Officials launched specialised apps for real-time data entry, reducing processing time by 40 per cent.

Preparations extend to setting up over 80,000 polling booths, with enhanced security measures for sensitive areas identified in 109 assembly segments.

The video conference, to be chaired by Bharti, will focus on key SIR-related tasks, including mapping the 2002 and 2025 electoral rolls, appointing and training Booth Level Officers (BLOs), arranging printers, forms, and enumeration materials, identifying volunteers to assist BLOs, preparing BLO kits, reviewing pending Form 6, 7, and 8 applications, and addressing complaints related to booth rationalisation and BLO appointments.

Please click here to add Swarajya as your preferred and trusted news source on Google.

Also Read: Bihar Elections: EC To Announce Poll Schedule At 4 PM