West Bengal Electoral Roll Revision Likely to Be Delayed Due to Dussehra Holidays

West Bengal's special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter roll is likely to extend longer than in other states this year, with officials saying that the holidays during the festive season might extend the exercise to almost 50 days.

Whereas in other states like Bihar, the SIR was completed within a month, West Bengal has a different situation. State government offices will be shut for several weeks because of major festivals like Durga Puja, Kali Puja, and Chhat Puja, which will leave it hard to complete the revision within the normal time.

Offices will be closed from September 26 to October 7 for Durga Puja, and then another long holiday from October 18 to 28 for Kali Puja and Chhat Puja. There will be only 11 working days in October alone. If the revision starts after September 20, there would be only 16 working days until the end of October, which officials claim is not enough to get the process done.

Due to this, Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) will likely ask the Election Commission (EC) for an extra 15 to 20 days to finish the job. This issue will be discussed at a conference of all state CEOs that is to be held in New Delhi on Wednesday, where likely SIR deadlines for each state are set to be decided.

Officials emphasize that if the SIR of Bengal is pushed into a one-month gap like Bihar, it would ideally have to start from November 1. But that delay can affect the publication of the final electoral roll on time, which generally comes out on January 5 every year.

The revision process also includes time for claims and objections after the draft roll is published, and addressing those concerns alone can take two to three weeks. This makes early initiation crucial to meet the national deadline.

At the New Delhi meeting, the Bihar CEO would be given half an hour to present learnings from the just-concluded exercise, while CEOs of other states, like Bengal, would present their readiness. The CEO of Bengal would point out the festive holidays as the major reason for requiring extra time compared to the other states.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh May Reschedule Dasara Holidays: Expected from September 22