For 2nd time this month, EC pulls up Bengal DEOs for not listing apartment complexes for polling booths

This is not the first instance of the ECI flagging “delays” by Bengal’s district authorities on the issue. (file)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) Tuesday issued an ultimatum to District Electoral Officers (DEOs) of eight districts in West Bengal to submit a list of apartment complexes eligible for setting up polling booths by Wednesday, warning of strict action in case of non-compliance.

Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti was in Kolkata on Tuesday, where he held meetings with the concerned DEOs of Kolkata North, Kolkata South, Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman.

Earlier this month, on December 10, the Commission had pulled up DEOs for failing to send proposals for polling stations in large residential complexes. In a letter to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Office (CEO) Manoj Agarwal, Under Secretary of the EC, Shakti Sharma had stated, “No proposal of polling stations (in the high-rise buildings) has been received from your office so far. The Commission has taken a very serious view of the failure on the part of DEOs in performance of their statutory duty… The DEOs are liable for any lack of sufficiency of polling stations for electors in the above specified residential colonies.”

The ECI has proposed setting up polling booths inside housing societies and high-rise residential complexes with a large number of voters — a move strongly opposed by the ruling Trinamool Congress, which has said it will not allow polling booths on private premises.

The Commission first implemented the model in Delhi as part of efforts to “boost voter turnout in urban areas”. In West Bengal, the proposal is seen by many in political and administrative circles as significant ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, particularly in constituencies such as Kolkata, Howrah and the Salt Lake-New Town belt, where large apartment complexes house substantial voter populations.

While the Trinamool Congress has opposed the move, the BJP has welcomed it, as the party leadership believes that high-rise residents tend to be its supporters and are often prevented from stepping out to vote by alleged TMC-backed goons.

Initially, the ECI proposed polling booths in residential complexes with 400 or more voters. Following objections from the Trinamool Congress, the threshold was reduced to 300 voters, according to ECI sources.

A senior ECI official said, “The state government is unwilling to allow polling booths in apartment complexes, while the Election Commission is firm on implementing the plan. It remains to be seen whether this results in a confrontation or a middle path is found.”

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had last month written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, objecting to setting up polling stations inside private residential premises. “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,” she wrote.