Kolkata: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar faced protests as a group of people raised ‘Back’ slogans and raised black flags for him during his visit to Dakshineswar Kali temple near here on Tuesday morning.
A similar protest over alleged arbitrary deletions in post-SIR electoral rolls in the state was held outside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on his arrival in Kolkata on Sunday evening.
He was faced with slogans of “Go back” and black flags on Monday morning when he visited the Kalighat temple in the southern part of the city.
Despite protests outside Dakshineswar Kali temple, Kumar continued his scheduled programs in the state.
The CEC also visited Belur Math in Howrah district this morning and said the poll panel is committed to holding violence-free elections in West Bengal.
He said that the committee will make efforts to ensure that voters are able to exercise their electoral right in a festive environment.
“The EC wants to ensure that the polls are free from violence or intimidation,” Kumar said while speaking to reporters during his visit to Belur Math.
The Central Election Commission is visiting the state to review election preparations and held meetings with political parties and officials on Monday ahead of the House of Representatives elections.
During the meetings held on Monday, Kumar warned that any mistake in maintaining law and order ahead of the elections would not be tolerated and stressed the need for strict monitoring to ensure free and fair elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had accused Kumar of threatening state officials during a meeting with the administration on Monday, and warned that “false bravado” by constitutional authorities is unacceptable, escalating the standoff between the state government and the poll panel over the deletion of voters in the special intensified review of electoral rolls.
According to official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names, about 8.3% of voters, have been deleted since the SIR process began in November last year, bringing down the voter base from around Rs 7.66 lakh crore to just over Rs 7.04 lakh crore.
In addition, more than 60.06 lakh voters have been placed under the “under segregation” category, meaning their eligibility will be determined through legal scrutiny in the coming weeks, a process that could reshape electoral equations at the constituency level.
