KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has identified 78 large residential complexes in Kolkata and its outskirts for the establishment of polling stations, with the detailed list scheduled for publication on 25 February, sources said.
“Seventy-eight residential complexes have been identified for setting up polling booths. The detailed list will be made public on 25 February. As the number of electors is expected to decrease significantly following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, the total number of booths will also come down,” a source in the ECI stated on Wednesday.
Since November-December last year, the Commission has held several meetings with electoral officers of Kolkata North, Kolkata South, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts, alongside West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal and his team, to discuss proposals for setting up polling stations inside private housing complexes with multiple high-rise buildings.
Around 10 per cent of voters in Kolkata and district towns across Bengal reside in multi-storeyed buildings. According to ECI sources, residents in such complexes are often reluctant to vote at polling stations located outside due to fears of poll-related violence.
“That is why the Commission has shown interest in setting up polling booths inside housing complexes, so that residents can cast their votes safely,” a source said, requesting anonymity.
Earlier, the national poll body had criticised district magistrates (DMs), who also serve as district electoral officers (DEOs), for inaction on its proposals regarding polling stations inside private housing complexes. On 10 December, the ECI wrote to Agarwal, directing him to take immediate steps on the matter.
Following the Commission’s instructions, DEOs conducted extensive house-to-house surveys to identify suitable locations in high-rise or group housing societies, RWA colonies with common facilities or community halls on the ground floor, as well as slum clusters in urban areas. The DEOs were also directed to finalise proposals for new polling stations only after obtaining prior approval from the Commission.
The Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has opposed the ECI’s proposal. She wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar objecting to the plan for the upcoming Assembly polls.
“This proposal is deeply problematic. Polling stations have always been, and must remain, located in government or semi-government institutions, preferably within a 2 km radius, to ensure accessibility and neutrality. Private buildings are typically avoided for clear reasons: they compromise fairness, violate established norms, and create discriminatory distinctions between privileged residents and the general public — the haves and have-nots,” Mamata’s letter stated.