Ahead of the first phase of the West Bengal assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has released lists of voters included in the electoral roll after the Supreme Court-appointed appellate tribunals cleared them, and those deleted for the want of clearance.
The Supreme Court last week ordered the inclusion of cleared voters in the electoral roll at least two days before polling to entitle them to vote, marking a significant relaxation of the earlier freeze on voter lists.
On Thursday, 152 of West Bengal’s 294 assembly constituencies will go to the polls in the first phase of polling, while the remaining 142 seats will be held on April 29, with results declared on May 4.
Chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said political parties, candidates, returning officers, and district election officers will be given copies of the updated voter list, while electors whose cases are cleared by the tribunals will be informed through their booth-level officers.
