ECI suspends 4 West Bengal govt officers over fictitious voters in electoral roll | Kolkata

The poll panel also directed the state chief secretary to lodge FIRs against the four officers and a data entry operator. The two EROs are West Bengal Civil Service (executive) officers.

“The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal had forwarded a report on July 29 informing about the wrongful addition of names in the electoral rolls by EROs and AEROs of Baruipur Purba and Moyna assembly constituencies. It has been reported that the said officers have not only failed to perform duty as ERO and AERO while disposing off the applications but also violated the policy of data security while sharing their login credentials of the electoral roll database with unauthorized persons,” the ECI stated in its letter to the West Bengal chief secretary.

Earlier, the poll panel, during a sample checking of applications from new voters in the state, had found that the two EROs accepted a large number of Form 6 from alleged fictitious voters, officials aware of the developments said.

Further enquiry revealed that the mandatory verification by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were also allegedly not done in those cases. The officers also provided user access to ERO Net, a centralised system that helps election officials with electoral roll management, to unauthorised users.

After the lapses came to light, the CEO of West Bengal ordered district officials to take immediate action. District Magistrates, who double up as District Election Officers (DEOs), were asked to set up teams comprising senior officers and investigate all Form 6 disposals carried out over the past year.

This comes amidst speculations that after Bihar, a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) would be conducted in West Bengal, where assembly elections are scheduled to be held in 2026. The poll panel has already asked political parties in the state to submit the list of their Booth Level Agents and training is being imparted to BLOs.

“The officers shall be placed under suspension for their failure in supervising the election related work, with immediate effect and suitable disciplinary proceedings be initiated against them without delay. In addition, FIRs be lodged against the erring EROs and AEROs for their action which potentially amounts to criminal misconduct. Furthermore, FIR shall also be lodged against the casual data entry operator,” the ECI letter stated.

Meanwhile, a political row has already erupted between the ruling-Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state and its arch rival the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the possible implementation of SIR in West Bengal.

“We welcome the move by the ECI. The people of West Bengal want an electoral roll free of illegal Bangladeshis, Rohingyas, dead voters and voters with multiple entries. The people have seen how the ruling TMC conducts the panchayat and municipal polls. Law-and-order has deteriorated and citizen’s right to vote are being infringed upon. The administration has been politicised,” Samik Bhattacharya, BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP, told media persons.

“Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA and leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, has recently said that FIRs were lodged against more than 400 government officers in Bihar and more than 50 were arrested during the SIR exercise. If someone is genuinely at fault, the ECI is free to take action. But we want to ask whether the ECI is following the lines in which Adhikari has spoken to create a fear psychosis among government officers,” Debangshu Bhattacharya, TMC state spokesperson, told media persons.