Technical Glitches Spark Concerns Over West Bengal Electoral Roll Revision
Election Commission Faces Criticism Over Technical Issues
The Trinamool Congress raised alarms on Wednesday regarding the Election Commission's website, which mistakenly indicated that all voters in West Bengal were under review during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. This error led to significant anxiety among the electorate.
Although the issue was subsequently addressed, it underscored the serious technical flaws and unreliable software utilized by the Election Commission, as pointed out by party MP Mahua Moitra. She noted that the system has faced scrutiny from the Supreme Court.
Moitra questioned on social media, “How can software funded by taxpayers be so prone to errors? What measures has the Election Commission implemented to resolve these persistent problems? Instead of focusing on critical issues impacting millions of voters, the Commission seems preoccupied with aiding the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
West Bengal is one of the 12 states and Union Territories undergoing this special revision of electoral rolls.
On February 28, the Election Commission released the final electoral roll for West Bengal, revealing the removal of over 61 lakh voters. However, the revision process continues, with around 60 lakh cases still pending review due to objections regarding their exclusion from the draft rolls published in December.
A supplementary list containing names approved by judicial officers was released on Monday. Out of the 60 lakh pending cases, approximately 29 lakh had been adjudicated.
However, the Election Commission has not clarified how many voters were removed or added to the list.
On February 20, the Supreme Court mandated the appointment of judicial officers of district judge rank to assist in completing the revision process in West Bengal amid ongoing tensions between the Trinamool Congress government and the Election Commission.
Reports indicated that when the supplementary list was made available online, users experienced technical difficulties, including slow downloads and issues with accessing PDF files.
Election Commission Addresses the Issue
West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, stated on Tuesday that initial technical glitches were expected but would be resolved shortly.
On Wednesday, a polling official mentioned that the Election Commission was investigating the cause of the technical error that temporarily indicated all voters in the state were under review.
“At one point, the system mistakenly showed that all electors in the state were under adjudication,” the official explained. “This was a display error and not reflective of the actual situation.”
The issue has since been corrected, according to the official.
The Supreme Court noted on Tuesday that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls had proceeded smoothly in all states except West Bengal.
Additionally, Moitra accused the Election Commission of appointing the spouse of a BJP leader from Bihar as a police observer in Malda, West Bengal.
She further alleged that central forces were being misused to support the BJP's campaign efforts in Bankura, describing this as a serious threat to electoral integrity.
The Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled for April 23 and April 29, with vote counting set for May 4.