SIR on, EC team begins preparations for West Bengal Assembly elections with EVM checks
West Bengal has 80,681 booths, which will be increased to around 95,000 for the Assembly elections, an EC official said, adding around 1.30 lak ballot units and control units and more than 1.25 lakh VVPAT machines will be required.
Written by Atri Mitra
Kolkata | November 20, 2025 07:00 AM IST
3 min read
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After they return to Kolkata on November 21, the team on Friday will convene a meeting with all district magistrates and also join the FLC workshop. This is the EC team's second visit to Bengal this month.
Amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the Election Commission is going to start preparations for the Assembly elections in the state, which is scheduled to take place between April and May next year.
A four-member delegation of the EC, led by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, which is currently in West Bengal to review the SIR exercise, will start the first round of checking of the EVMs on November 21. The team will meet all the District Magistrates and demonstrate EVMs that will be used in coming Assembly elections, sources said.
West Bengal has 80,681 booths, which will be increased to around 95,000 for the Assembly elections, an EC official said, adding around 1.30 lak ballot units and control units and more than 1.25 lakh VVPAT machines will be required.
“From September 15 to October 15, all the EVMs and VVPAT machines reached West Bengal in phases. The checking will start from November 21,” said a senior EC official.
“The process will start with the training of district officials and the checking process will be demonstrated before them. After that, the First Level Checking (FLC) of EVM will start in every district. During that, all political party’s representatives will have to be present,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the four-member EC team on Wednesday visited Nadia and reviewed the ongoing SIR exercise.
The team urged the Nadia district administration to complete the digitisation of the SIR records by November 26.
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Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal said the enumeration form distribution was proceeding smoothly.
The state has 7.66 crore electors, of which 7.64 crore Enumeration Forms have been distributed, accounting for 99.72 per cent, an official said, adding that digitisation has been done for 1.48 crore forms.
The team held a review meeting at the Krishnanagar DM office with Nadia District Magistrate Aneesh Dasgupta and senior officials, including ADMs, EROs (SDOs) and 18 BDOs. The meeting focused on assessing SIR progress and addressing field challenges faced by BLOs, including locating voters and photographing them.
The EC officials then travelled to Murshidabad and held another review meeting with district officers in the evening to monitor SIR digitisation and election preparations.
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On Thursday, the team will review the SIR process in Malda and Murshidabad districts.
After they return to Kolkata on November 21, the team on Friday will convene a meeting with all district magistrates and also join the FLC workshop. This is the EC team’s second visit to Bengal this month.
Atri Mitra is a highly accomplished Special Correspondent for The Indian Express, bringing over 20 years of experience to his reporting. His work is characterized by deep regional knowledge and a focus on critical administrative and political developments, establishing strong Expertise and Authority in his domain.
Experience
Current Role: Special Correspondent, The Indian Express.
Decades of Experience: Over two decades of extensive reporting experience, primarily covering administration and political news.
Geographical Focus: Holds significant reporting experience from West Bengal, Bihar, and the North-East, providing a comprehensive understanding of the socio-political landscape in these regions.
Key Coverage: Has dedicated more than ten years to covering administration and political news, with a keen focus on political developments in West Bengal.
Electoral Reporting: Demonstrated a commitment to crucial political moments, having covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections during his time at Anandabazar Patrika, and the 2019 Bihar Lok Sabha election while working with News18-Bangla.
Career Foundation: Began his career at the leading vernacular daily Anandabazar Patrika, where he worked for more than fifteen years, including a three-year stint as the Bihar correspondent.
Education
Advanced Degree: Holds a Master's degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University, providing an analytical framework for his political and administrative reporting.
Undergraduate Education: Holds a Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University.
Prestigious Alumni: His educational background includes attending esteemed institutions: he is an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
Atri Mitra's decades of dedicated reporting, substantial focus on political and administrative beats, and solid academic credentials make him a trusted and authoritative source for news and analysis from Eastern and North-Eastern India. ... Read More
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