ECI flags inadequate election preparedness in two Bengal border districts

KOLKATA: The progress in poll preparations in two Bangladesh-bordering districts in West Bengal for the forthcoming Assembly polls has not been satisfactory so far, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has communicated to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

These two districts are South 24 Parganas in South Bengal and Cooch Behar in North Bengal.

Sources in the CEO's office said that last week, the ECI's top brass at its headquarters in New Delhi had a virtual meeting with the electoral officers up to the district-level as well as with senior bureaucrats and police officers in the state and took inputs from them about the poll-preparedness in different districts in the state.

“After examining the inputs received last week, the ECI identified the prevailing lapses in poll-preparedness. Although Wednesday was a holiday because of the Holi festival, the deputy election commissioner, Gyanesh Bharati, had a brief virtual meeting with the electoral officers of West Bengal, including the district magistrates, who are also the district electoral officers, on Wednesday night. In that meeting, Bharati