An insider from the state CEO’s office confirmed the ECI’s latest directive, which lambasts the government for ignoring prior orders. ‘Repeated nudges fell on deaf ears,’ the source noted, prompting the commission to impose a hard deadline.

Spotlight falls on Baruipur East in South 24 Parganas, where ERO Debottram Dutta Chowdhury and AERO Tathagata Mandal stand accused. Similarly, in East Midnapore’s Moyna constituency, ERO Biplab Sarkar and AERO Sudipta Das face the heat for purportedly injecting phantom voters into the rolls.

Flashback to August 2023: ECI headquarters in New Delhi had already mandated suspensions and police complaints. Months later, little progress has been made, fueling accusations of political shielding.

This episode highlights deeper rot in Bengal’s electoral machinery. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was meant to purify lists bloated by an estimated lakhs of fake entries. Yet, ground-level lapses persist, raising alarms for democratic fairness.

Stakeholders from opposition parties have hailed the ECI’s resolve, demanding swift action. The state, however, maintains procedural hurdles. As the deadline looms, it remains a test of administrative will versus electoral oversight.