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Economic Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
Bengal voter list scam: 127 fake entries flagged, CEO orders probe
West Bengal's election authority discovered significant irregularities in voter lists in South and North 24 Parganas, including numerous fictitious voters allegedly added without proper verification. The CEO has ordered a thorough review of recent voter registration applications and directed action against those responsible. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office has flagged major irregularities during sample checking of voters' lists in West Bengal's South and North 24 Parganas districts. According to sources in the know, a large number of 'fictitious voters' — whose names were allegedly submitted and entered by two EROs without BLO verification — was development comes amid ongoing allegations from both the opposition BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress on inclusion of bogus Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal told ET that for two EROs, 127 fictitious voters were identified, and appropriate action will be taken against has directed all the district election officers (DEOs) to form 'a team of senior officers' and conduct 'sample checking of all Form 6 disposals done during the last one year and send a report to the Bengal CEO by August 14'.The two EROs allegedly were instrumental in accepting a considerable 'large number of fictitious voters', according to EC told ET that one document was submitted multiple times for a large number of fictitious voters as supporting documents and no BLO verification was sample checking of Form 6, it was found that the EROs allegedly uploaded the same documents of voters, they said.'Both the EROs have admitted that they had provided user access to the ERONet to the AERO/OC Election in BDO office' and thereafter the 'casual data entry operators' had allegedly 'disposed of the Form 6 applications', EC officials CEO directed that 'appropriate action' be taken in these cases, while DEOs have been directed to 'ensure that the OC Election posted in BDO Office and Casual/Daily Wages Contractual Data Entry Operators are not involved in the disposal of Form 6, 7, 8 or for the discharge of any of the functions and duties in ERONet'.On Monday, leader of opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari wrote a letter to the Election Commission of India over the alleged increase in voter registration applications (70,000), urging the poll body to exclude domicile certificates, allegedly issued after July 25, if the SIR is implemented in West said the huge rise in Form 6 submission and reports of domicile certificate issuance raised concerns about the state government's 'unethical and illegal efforts' to facilitate the 'legitimising of the infiltrating Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants' to manipulate voter lists.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Bengal voter list scam: 127 fake entries flagged, CEO orders probe
The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office has flagged major irregularities during sample checking of voters' lists in West Bengal's South and North 24 Parganas districts. According to sources in the know, a large number of 'fictitious voters' — whose names were allegedly submitted and entered by two EROs without BLO verification — was detected. This development comes amid ongoing allegations from both the opposition BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress on inclusion of bogus voters. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal told ET that for two EROs, 127 fictitious voters were identified, and appropriate action will be taken against them. Agarwal has directed all the district election officers (DEOs) to form 'a team of senior officers' and conduct 'sample checking of all Form 6 disposals done during the last one year and send a report to the Bengal CEO by August 14'. The two EROs allegedly were instrumental in accepting a considerable 'large number of fictitious voters', according to EC officials. Live Events Sources told ET that one document was submitted multiple times for a large number of fictitious voters as supporting documents and no BLO verification was done. During sample checking of Form 6, it was found that the EROs allegedly uploaded the same documents of voters, they said. 'Both the EROs have admitted that they had provided user access to the ERONet to the AERO/OC Election in BDO office' and thereafter the 'casual data entry operators' had allegedly 'disposed of the Form 6 applications', EC officials said. The CEO directed that 'appropriate action' be taken in these cases, while DEOs have been directed to 'ensure that the OC Election posted in BDO Office and Casual/Daily Wages Contractual Data Entry Operators are not involved in the disposal of Form 6, 7, 8 or for the discharge of any of the functions and duties in ERONet'. On Monday, leader of opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari wrote a letter to the Election Commission of India over the alleged increase in voter registration applications (70,000), urging the poll body to exclude domicile certificates, allegedly issued after July 25, if the SIR is implemented in West Bengal. Adhikari said the huge rise in Form 6 submission and reports of domicile certificate issuance raised concerns about the state government's 'unethical and illegal efforts' to facilitate the 'legitimising of the infiltrating Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants' to manipulate voter lists.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
TDP, BJP leaders submit memoranda to CEO on strengthening the electoral process
TDP leaders Alapati Rajendra Prasad (MLC), former MLC P. Ashok Babu, and A.P. Education & Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation (APEWIDC) Chairman K. Raja Sekhar submitted a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Yadav at the Secretariat on Thursday (July 24, 2025) on strengthening the electoral process within the legal framework. They made 13 suggestions for ensuring free, fair and transparent elections, which were the cornerstone of a vibrant democracy. Some of the important suggestions were to advise the Booth-Level Agents (BLAs) and Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) to gather information related to deaths from the local bodies at prescribed intervals and update the voters' list accordingly, avoid the 'zero door number' system, and adopt a permanent methodology that sorts out the inconsistencies thereof. They also suggested that a family residing in the same door number / premises should be allotted the same polling station and that better amenities be provided to the Returning Officers by allowing them to take private premises like schools, colleges and halls, and devise a separate mechanism using the present technology for deleting duplicate votes. Further, the TDP leaders also recommended that extra time be given to cast votes to make up for the time lost due to the malfunctioning of the EVMs, the size of the parties' symbols in the VVPAT devices should be increased. They also sought that the involvement of youth in the voting process should be increased by spreading awareness about the importance of getting themselves enrolled as and when they attain 18 years of age. Further, they sought facilities to the elderly, differently-abled persons, and pregnant women to avoid inconvenience, and that a photo revision programme be taken up at fixed intervals. A BJP delegation, comprising K. Dileep and U. Srinivasa Raju, requested the CEO to strengthen the BLO training and monitoring, use GIS tools for rationalising polling stations, fully adopt ERONet across districts, do real-time syncing of data with death and migration records, strictly adhere to the Representation of People Act, implement the SVEEP programme in low registration areas, and make schools / colleges as voter enrollment hubs.
The Print
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Polling stations in UP to increase by 12 pc as ECI issues new directive: CEO Rinwa
Rinwa was speaking at a training session for District Magistrates and District Election Officers from 15 districts, held at the Commissioner's Auditorium in Meerut. This move will help voters avoid long queues on polling day, he said. Meerut (UP), Jul 7 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa on Monday said the number of polling stations across the state is expected to increase by nearly 12 per cent following the ECI's instructions to ensure that no polling station has more than 1,200 voters. The session covered electoral roll revision, the election process, and relevant rules and laws. While the number of polling stations across the state is expected to increase by nearly 12 per cent, some districts will possibly see even higher additions, the CEO said. During the session, the CEO emphasised correcting errors in the voter list, training Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and explained in detail the constitutional provisions, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electoral Rolls Rules, 1960, and various manuals and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Rinwa explained that ERO Net, a central database, is used to prepare the electoral roll. The ECI has also issued specific guidelines regarding who may be appointed as BLOs, and appointments are being made accordingly. He highlighted that this was the first time such an intensive day-long training programme on electoral rolls is being held outside the election period. The CEO added that all polling stations must be equipped with basic facilities such as drinking water, separate toilets for men and women, adequate lighting, signage, and ramps for the differently abled. Officials were also trained on how the BLO mobile application works. Rinwa expressed confidence that this training would significantly improve the fidelity and accuracy of the voter list. The training covered the process of adding, deleting, and modifying names in the electoral roll using Forms 6, 7, and 8. Officers were instructed to ensure all work related to the electoral roll is carried out with complete transparency and accuracy. Detailed guidance was also provided on appointing, training, and supervising BLOs, with a specific direction that only competent and trained staff should be appointed as BLOs and supervisors. Rinwa also directed that regular meetings be held with political parties in each district. All data related to the electoral roll revision must be kept secure, and information requested by the ECI should be submitted accurately. He also stressed on the need to promote voter registration, complaint redressal portals, and relevant mobile applications to ensure public participation in the electoral roll purification process. District Election Officers were instructed to closely monitor all activities related to the revision. In the second session, detailed training was provided on using the ERO Net system, including DO login, operator login, the BLO app, online registration, the public service portal, and the complaint redressal portal. Also present at the event were UP Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Amit Singh, Meerut Divisional Commissioner Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, and District Election Officers from 15 districts. PTI COR KIS NB This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
