Kolkata: The number of phases for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal scheduled next year is likely to be much less compared to the previous two Assembly polls in 2016 and 2021, if the Election Commission of India (ECI) accepts the suggestions from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal.
A preliminary decision in the matter may be taken at a crucial meeting of the Commission on January 5, which will be attended by the West Bengal CEO, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, accompanied by a few other top officials from his office.
Sources in the CEO’s office said that the suggestion is to complete the election in a single phase, and if not possible, in a maximum of two phases, but surely not more than that.
“That is exactly why the crucial meeting on January 5 has been convened to discuss the arrangements, especially as regards deployment of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), that would be required in case of a single-phase or two-phase Assembly polls,” sources in the CEO office said.
In 2021, the West Bengal Assembly elections were conducted in eight phases, with the first phase being on March 27 and the last phase on April 29.
In 2016, the Assembly elections were conducted in six phases, with the first phase divided into two days, effectively making it a seven-phase poll.
While the opposition parties in West Bengal had always been welcoming such multi-phase elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress had been consistent in opposing the same.
The CEO’s office sources pointed out that the eventuality of a single-phase or two-phase poll in West Bengal in 2026 will have both its advantages and disadvantages.
“The advantage is that political parties will not be able to mobilise their supporters from one to another and thus address the traditional complaint of outsider mobilisation on the polling day or the day before that, intimidating the voters,” sources in the CEO’s office added.
However, that single-phase or two-phase polling would require a larger deployment of CAPF, especially on the polling day.
“If the Commission can ensure that arrangement, the idea of a single-phase or two-phase poll is quite feasible,” the sources said.
Meanwhile, the hearing sessions for claims and objections on the draft voters’ list in West Bengal will start tomorrow. A training session for the 4,600 micro-observers appointed to review the hearing session will be conducted on Wednesday at Nazrul Manch in South Kolkata.
These micro-observers are either Central government staff or staff from central public sector undertakings or public sector banks, primarily from the Group B category, with some from the Group A category.
The final voters’ list in West Bengal will be published on February 14 next year. Soon after that, the ECI will announce the dates for the crucial Assembly elections in the state, scheduled for next year.
(IANS)
