In preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, a threemember team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) is scheduled to visit West Bengal next month to review the state’s readiness. Sources from the office of the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of West Bengal said the team is expected to arrive on 19 August. It is likely that Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitin Kumar Vyas will lead the three-member ECI team.
This week, senior officials from the office of CEO, West Bengal, held a preliminary meeting on poll preparedness. It has been decided that the examination of available Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the state will commence on 1 August and is expected to be completed within six days. “We want to ensure thorough preparation before the arrival of the three-member ECI team to review our preparedness,” said an official from the office of CEO, West Bengal. The CEO’s office has already issued instructions to district administrative authorities to begin the process of reviewing the voters’ list in their respective districts.
The aim is to make the voters’ list completely errorfree this time, which includes removing the names of deceased voters and rectifying cases where individuals have their names registered in multiple places, especially in the case of married women. The commission anticipates an increase in the number of polling booths this time, up from the current figure of 79,000.