West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari accuses CM Mamata Banerjee of threatening BLOs
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Kolkata: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) complaining against West Bengal Chief Minister's indirect threat and intimidation of the BLOs. Meanwhile, West Bengal- Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) made voter lists from the 2002 electoral roll revision available online.Adhikari said that 'Mamata Banerjee's assertion that BLOs are merely State Govt Employees and her attempt to intimidate and manipulate the electoral process by instructing BLOs to ensure that no names are removed from the Voter List , is clearly an unauthorized attempt to dilute the Voter Lists for political gain.'Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee , during her administrative meeting on Monday, said that the BLOs went for training in Delhi and she was not aware. She also pointed out that BLOs were state government employees and will also remain so after the polls. They should stay alert and keep in mind that not a single voter's name gets deleted during roll revision, if SIR is implemented in Bengal, Banerjee has said.'This is unacceptable. How can elections be fair if the Chief Minister pressures officials and challenges the ECI's autonomy? It is a direct attack on our democracy. I have written to the Election Commissioner of India, urging the ECI to take suo moto cognizance of her remarks that interfere with the duties of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and undermine the ECI's authority,' Adhikari said.Meanwhile, the 2002 voters' list of some districts has been uploaded online on the website of the West Bengal-Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Sources said that the list that has been published on the website of the of the State's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) contains the names of 11 districts — Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda in North Bengal and Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, Medinipur and Bankura in the south.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
8 minutes ago
- Mint
Vice Presidential Elections 2025: How is a VP of India elected? Rules, eligibility, process, more
Over ten days after Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as the Vice President of India, the Election Commission of India (ECI) released the schedule for Vice Presidential Election on 1 August to fill the vacancy. The Vice President holds the office for a term of five years from the date on which he or she enters upon his or her office. However, Article 68(2) of the Constitution states that in case of the Vice President's death, resignation or removal or otherwise, an election shall be held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy. Dhankhar's term was until 2027, but he resigned with two years of his term remaining. The new VP will be elected for a full five-year term. In accordance with the Constitutional provisions and relevant laws and rules, the Election Commission of India released the schedule for the 17th Vice Presidential Election. The polls for electing the next Vice President of India, if required, would be held on 9 September. a) Be a citizen of India. b) Have completed 35 years of age. c) Be eligible to be a member of the Rajya Sabha. d) Not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments. 1. A candidate filing nomination has to be subscribed by at least twenty electors as proposers and at least twenty electors as seconders. The nomination has to be presented to the Returning Officer, between 11 am and 3 pm on any day appointed for the purpose – either by the candidate or by any of his proposers or seconders. Last date of filing nominations 21, August, 2025 Date of Scrutiny of nominations 22, August, 2025 Last Date of Withdrawal of nominations 25, August, 2025 Date of Poll, if required 09, September, 2025 Hours of Polls 10 AM to 5 PM Date of Counting 09, September, 2025 2. A candidate must submit a security deposit of ₹ 15,000 to the Returning Officer in cash or any other legal means for the election. 3. The candidate will also have to furnish a certified copy of the entry showing his name in the current electoral roll for the Parliamentary Constituency in which the candidate is registered as an elector. 1) The polling takes place in the Parliament House, according to Rule 8 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Rules, 1974. 2) The Commission will supply particular pens to the electors in the polling station by the designated official when the ballot paper is handed over. 3) Electors have to mark the ballot only with this particular pen and not with any other pen. 4) The ECI has appointed the Rajya Sabha's secretary general as the returning officer for the VP elections. 5) The political parties cannot issue their MPs a whip for voting in the VP election. 6) The Counting of votes will be held in New Delhi under the supervision of the returning officer. On completion of counting, the returning officer will sign and issue the return of election. As per the details, the Electoral College consists of 233 elected members of the Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, and 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha for the 17th Vice Presidential Election. Now that the dates are out, both the NDA and the INDIA bloc will nominate their candidates. As things stand, the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority in the electorate. There are fair chances that an NDA candidate will be the next Vice President of India.
New Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
House logjam over SIR continues
NEW DELHI: The face-off between the Opposition and the government continued on Friday as both Houses of Parliament were adjourned over the demand for a discussion on the special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls. The INDIA bloc, including the Congress, TMC, DMK and RJD, wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla demanding a special discussion on the EC's SIR in Bihar. 'We, the undersigned Members of Parliament representing various Opposition parties, wish to express our deep concern over the voter list revision in Bihar, especially a few months before the state assembly elections,' the letter read. This is unprecedented. The Election Commission has indicated that similar exercises will soon be undertaken across the country. Given the widespread apprehension about the transparency, timing, and intent of this process, the matter requires the urgent attention of the House,' said the letter. In the letter, the parties said the Opposition has consistently raised the issue since the start of the session. 'It was reiterated in several interactions with the government, including the all-party meeting held on Sunday, July 20,' it said. 'While the government has stated its willingness to discuss all issues, including this one, no date has yet been fixed for such a discussion,' it said. A special discussion in the Lok Sabha will allow MPs to seek clarity and ensure transparency, they pointed out. 'We, therefore, urge you to schedule a special discussion on the ongoing voter roll revision without any further delay'. Earlier in the day, a united INDIA bloc held a protest march at the gate of Parliament demanding the rollback of ongoing SIR in Bihar.
Hans India
8 minutes ago
- Hans India
EC publishes draft electoral rolls for Bihar
Patna: The Election Commission (EC) on Friday published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, following the completion of the month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. No compiled list was made available, but voters can check their names on the EC's website. There were 7.93 crore registered voters in the state before the SIR began in June, according to the EC. It is yet to be known how many voters are in the just-published draft rolls. The publication of the draft rolls also kicked off the process of 'claims and objections', which would continue till September 1, and during the period, voters with complaints of wrongful deletion of names can approach the authorities concerned seeking a remedy.
