Bengal BJP's advice to BLAs: Be careful about seats with massive rise in voters

Kolkata, Oct 21 Amid the possibilities of announcement for Special Intensive Review (SIR), the West Bengal unit of BJP has cautioned its booth-level agents (BLAs) to be extra cautious about those Assembly constituencies which have witnessed a massive increase in voters’ numbers over a period.

A state committee member said that the party’s BLAs have been especially advised to be extra vigilant during the SIR exercise, about those Assembly constituencies which have witnessed over 40 per cent increase in voters’ numbers since 2011, the year which marked the end of the 34-year Left Front rule in West Bengal and beginning of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime.

The state committee member pointed out that, as per standards, a 20 per cent to 25 per cent increase in the voters’ number in any particular constituency during the last 15 years is normal based on the three factors of total population, decade-wise increase in population and voters to population ratio.

“In certain exceptional cases, the voters’ numbers might even rise by 40 per cent, which is again acceptable to an extent. However, any increase in the number of voters in any constituency above 40 per cent during that period is something inconceivable. There are selected constituencies in the North 24 Parganas district in the northern outskirts of Kolkata where the number increase has been over 70 per cent. That is why our BLAs have been advised to be extra vigilant during the SIR exercise, where the voters’ percentage increase has been above 40 per cent since 2011,” the state committee member said.

He also said that the state unit of the party has also identified the Assembly constituencies where the voters’ percentage rise had been above 40 since 2011, and the lists, along with the details of the constituencies, have also been handed over to the BLAs concerned.

The BLAs have been given training on how to cooperate with the electoral officers of the state for a smooth SIR exercise to ensure the deletion of names of bogus, dead and duplicate voters from the list.

“At the same time, the BLAs have been advised that if they notice any irregularity nurtured and pampered by any electoral officers during the SIR, that matter should be brought to the notice of both the party’s state committee as well as the higher district electoral authorities concerned. The state committee will also take such matters of irregularities to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal,” the state committee member said.

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