No hurdle in carrying out SIR in Bengal, states constitutionally bound to support it: CEC

New Delhi | The Election Commission on Monday asserted there will be no hurdles in the implementation of special intensive revision of the voters' list in West Bengal as states are constitutionally obliged to provide the poll authority with personnel to carry out the electoral roll clean-up exercise.

The remarks by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar came as the poll panel announced conducting phase two of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories between November and February.

The states and Union Territories are: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Responding to a question on the possibility of "bloodbath" in West Bengal if the SIR exercise is held there, Kumar said, "There is no hurdle."

"The EC is doing its duty and state governments are constitutionally-bound to discharge their duties.....all constitutional bodies carry out their responsibility as enshrined in the constitution," Kumar said, citing the EC's powers under Article 324 of the Constitution.

"Maintaining law and order is a state's constitutional responsibility... states are also bound to provide necessary personnel to EC for preparing electoral rolls and conduct of polls," he added.

Responding to another question on the demands of postponing SIR in Kerala due to the proposed local body elections, the CEC said no notification for holding local body polls has been issued so far, and that is why the Election Commission is going ahead with holding SIR in the southern state.

Assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala are due next year, along with Assam, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

Will protest any attempt to delete names of eligible voters: TMC on SIR in Bengal

Kolkata | The EC's announcement of a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal sparked a political slugfest, with the ruling TMC apprehending attempts may be made to "delete the names of eligible voters at the behest of the BJP", while the saffron party maintained that "no illegal voter will be spared".

Reacting sharply to the Election Commission's move, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the party will "democratically protest" any attempt to remove genuine voters from the list.

"If any attempts are being made to delete the names of any eligible voter, there will be protests. We have no problem with electoral roll revision, but in the name of it, if someone tries to delete the name of any eligible voter at the behest of the BJP, we will protest democratically," Ghosh said.

He urged people to remain calm and not fall into what he called the "BJP's trap".

"We would urge everyone to maintain calm and not fall into the trap of the BJP. Just remember that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are with the people of West Bengal," he said.

The BJP, however, welcomed the Election Commission's move, calling it a necessary step to "weed out illegal voters".

Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said, "No illegal voters will be spared. Those who are legitimate voters have nothing to fear. But the infiltrators, who are the vote bank of the TMC, will be weeded out."

The Election Commission on Monday announced that the phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls will be conducted in 12 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, starting November 4.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the exercise aims to ensure that "no eligible elector is left out and no ineligible elector is included" in the rolls.

"The second phase will cover 51 crore voters. While the enumeration process will begin on November 4, the draft rolls will be published on December 9 and the final electoral rolls on February 7," he said.

The 12 states and Union Territories where the exercise will be held are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Of these, four -- Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal -- will go to polls next year. Kumar clarified that in Assam, SIR will be announced separately.

The ongoing SIR is the ninth such exercise since Independence, the last one having taken place between 2002 and 2004. Notably, West Bengal last underwent an SIR in 2002.