EC to set over 1 lakh polling booths for 2026 assembly elections
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Kolkata: EC would set up over 1 lakh polling booths across the state for the 2026 assembly elections, said Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday. He said there were around 81,000 booths at present, but with EC's decision to have a maximum of 1,200 voters per booth, the number was expected to go up by over 22,000.
There would be 309 booths at the Kaliganj bypoll, which will be held on Thursday, Agarwal said, adding the number of booths had to be increased from 261.
Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had at a recent meeting in Delhi decided to cap the number of voters at 1,200 per booth. The poll panel wants voters to be able to find their booths within a kilometre or two. Consequently, the number of EVMs and VVPATs to be used will also increase.
Bengal now has 7.6 crore total voters; 3.8 crore are male and 3.7 crore female. The number is expected to rise with EC pushing for a major voter enrolment drive from July. Booth level officers will be going door to door to help everyone aged 18 and above enrol on the voters' list. They will also make note of those who passed away or shifted homes, so that bogus voters are removed for the list.
The location of the additional 22,000 booths will be finalised by July.
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Meetings will then be held with political parties so there are no objections later when polling is declared.
Consultations are ongoing with political parties and electoral registration officers (EROs) and sub-divisional officers (SDOs) on the matter. EROs are also holding talks with residents of multi-storied buildings where there are community halls, so that polling booths can be set up there, and also cater to nearby slums and housing societies. SDOs are looking for open spaces where booths can be installed for slum-dwellers.
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