Trinamool to start detailed voters' list review in Bengal from this month

Kolkata, April 12 (IANS) Trinamool Congress will start a detailed review and verification of the voters' list in West Bengal this month, which will continue for a year.

Party insiders said that the review and verification process will start immediately after the Bengali New Year celebration on April 15 and continue till April next year.

The crucial state Assembly election in West Bengal is scheduled soon after the process of voters' list review and verification is completed. The review process will be conducted in association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).

"The necessary training for the party workers who will conduct door-to-door review and verification of the voters' list is in the final stage of completion. If more party workers are required to be involved in the review and verification process at a later stage, they will also be trained accordingly," said a senior party leader.

The training workshops are being conducted by the experts in the related field from I-PAC. The data collected in the door-to-door review and verification process will be uploaded to a central database to be accessed by senior leadership of the party at any time it requires.

It is learnt that the party has set up four-layered review and verification teams. These four levels are panchayat-level electoral supervisors and block-level electoral supervisors for rural areas, and ward-level electoral supervisors and town-level electoral supervisors for urban areas.

Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing an organisational meeting in Kolkata in February this year, had directed a detailed review and verification of the voters' list in anticipation that voters from other states might be included in the voters' list for West Bengal.

Accordingly, a committee, under the chairmanship of the state Trinamool Congress president, Subrata Bakshi, was constituted to oversee the entire process.

Trinamool Congress has been claiming that voters from different states have the same Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number.

Last month, a delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs demanded that the Election Commission of India (ECI) ensure a "Unique ID" for the EPIC cards as in AADHAAR cards and passports.

--IANS

src/svn