Kamal Ghorui
KOLKATA: The anxious wait to know whether they are eligible to vote or not is set to end on Monday for 27.2 lakh people in Bengal — out of around 60 lakh under adjudication — after Election Commission publishes the first supplementary voters’ list.Around 8.6% of 7 crore people — close to 60 lakh — whose names are on the state’s final voters’ list, published on Feb 28, are unsure whether they can participate in the upcoming assembly polls as the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll placed them in the “under adjudication” category. Their fate as electors hinges on the scrutiny of their documents by judicial officers.A total of 705 judicial officers disposed of 27.2 lakh cases till last Friday. Those 27.2 lakh people will get to know their status once the first supplementary list is out on Monday. The rest will have to wait for a few more days — the second supplementary list will be released next Friday and the third on April 3.Those who will lose their voting right will have their names marked on the lists, an EC official said. They can appeal before judicial tribunals. Sources said the first list will be displayed at polling stations before being published online on the ECI and Bengal CEO portals, as well as the ECINET app.Sikha Das, a resident of the Bhowanipore assembly constituency, where 14,154 people are under adjudication, is among those awaiting Monday’s list for a “reality check” on whether they are considered “genuine voters”.Das’s husband and sons have made it to the final roll, but her electoral right was put on hold. Having voted in Bhowanipore since the 1980s, she is hopeful that her name would figure on the supplementary list.Alipore resident Sourav Chakraborty said, “I have all the documents that a genuine voter should possess. I believe the supplementary list will restore my voting right.”Many of those who are on tenterhooks over their fate as voters are relying on their booth-level officers (BLOs) to update them on the list. Canning resident Akramul Haque Sardar said, “I have requested my BLO to check and inform me if my name has passed the adjudication test. I am spending anxious moments and praying that my name is on the list. I have been waiting since last Friday, when the list was supposed to come out.”Those who were put under adjudication had logical discrepancies in their SIR enumeration forms and submitted documents when called to hearings. But EC officials were not satisfied with their claims.The individuals who will fail to clear the adjudication hurdle can file an appeal — online through ECINET or in the offices of district magistrates, sub-divisional magistrates and sub-divisional officers. EC on Friday issued a notification on the constitution of 19 appellate tribunals to hear appeals on inclusion or exclusion of names.As lakhs of people wait for the supplementary list, the state govt has directed all DMs to take all possible measures to maintain law and order.
