NEW DELHI: The chief electoral officer (CEO) of West Bengal on Friday dismissed as “misleading and speculative” claims made in an “analysis” posted on YouTube that deletions made during special intensive revision (SIR) in West Bengal had a direct bearing on the outcome of the recent assembly elections in the state.In a post on X, the CEO quoted the analysis by DeKoder and countered it with the electoral data from five West Bengal seats that saw the highest SIR deletions; four of them were won by the Trinamool Congress, and the only one went to the BJP. As for the five constituencies with the least SIR deletions, the BJP ended up winning in all.Refuting the claims made in the YouTube video — which relied on electoral data from 25 seats with highest and lowest SIR deletions, and pointed to -10.5% and -5.3% swing respectively, for the TMC –, West Bengal’s top electoral officer said that “the electoral data….does not support the political narrative”.The CEO also dismissed the claim that women accounted for 62% of the electors deleted through SIR in West Bengal. “The claim…is unverified. As per the total data on deletion of invalid entries (excluding adjudication), around 50% or half of the deletions related to women,” he posted on X.
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As regards the DeKoder claim that deletions of Muslim electors in West Bengal were 52% more than those of non-Muslim electors, the CEO pointed out that there is no data based on the religious identity of the electors at the end of ECI. “Hence the analysis claimed is based on mere unverified assumptions,” he posted.“…The facts do not support the allegations,” the CEO stated and asserted that no voter can be deleted without due process. “Issuance of notice, an opportunity for hearing and a speaking order by the ERO (electoral registration officer) are part of the safeguards. Appeals are available at two levels,” he added.The CEO underlined that SIR was not about deleting genuine electors but about protecting the integrity of the electoral roll and was being conducted as per Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21 of the RP Act 1950, with due process and safeguards.“SIR is a lawful, transparent and ongoing exercise to ensure that every eligible elector is on the roll and that ineligible entries are removed. Electoral rolls must be based on facts — not speculation,” he noted.
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