3 min readKolkataNov 28, 2025 07:00 AM IST
First published on: Nov 28, 2025 at 07:00 AM IST
The Election Commission (EC) has sent three senior officers to West Bengal to oversee the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Earlier, the EC teams had visited the state twice to oversee the exercise in the state – both led by senior Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti. While they visited parts of the state for a few days and focused on certain districts, the three senior EC officers, who reached Kolkata on Thursday, are likely to camp in the state until the SIR exercise is wrapped up by February.
“BC Patra, Soumyajit Ghosh, and Bibhor Agarwal are very experienced officers and have been working with the Election Commission for a very long period. They have a wide knowledge of the SIR process and are experts in its legal aspects. So, we will take their suggestions for the complications that may likely be raised during the SIR process,” a senior EC official said.
Meanwhile, the State Chief Electoral Office is looking for a new space to accommodate additional staff members involved in the SIR exercise.
“We are now searching for a new office premises with more space. We have seen an office of the Shipping Corporation of India on the Strand Road in Kolkata, which is near to the present office at Dalhousie. CEO Manoj Agarwal visited the place. However, nothing is finalised yet. We are also looking into other office spaces in central Kolkata,” a senior official in the state Chief Electoral Office told The Indian Express.
This comes a day after the EC wrote to Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma, alleging “serious security breach” during the ongoing protest by booth-level officers (BLOs) at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, and sought an action-taken report within 48 hours.
“The existing security in the office of the CEO appeared to be inadequate to handle the situation, which could lead to a threat to the safety and security of the EC officials and staff,” the letter said.
The EC also instructed the police to implement all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of the officers and staff assigned to the office of CEO Manoj Agarwal, including their safety at home and during their commutes.
Earlier, CEO Manoj Agarwal had written to the state government for allotting additional office space. With Nabanna, the state secretariat, yet to respond, the state CEO began scouting for the space. Since the Shipping Corporation of India comes under the Union Ministry of Shipping, the EC would likely not find it difficult to use its space.
The Election Commission suspended Basirhat II BDO Sumitra Pratim Pradhan for violating electoral rules, declared related AERO appointments null and void, and ordered corrective action in West Bengal. (File) 
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