Kolkata: Amid speculation of SIR in West Bengal before 2026 Assembly elections, SIR training at ERO level started in Bengal from Tuesday.
According to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) sources, the training started through a virtual meeting at 2pm at CEO’s office in Kolkata.
CEO of the state Manoj Kumar Agarwal, held a similar virtual meeting with electoral officers on Monday at different levels from every district of the state, during which they were informed on the area mapping.
Deputy Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Bharti is scheduled to visit Kolkata on Thursday and will hold meetings at CEO office and is also slated to hold video conferences with district-level electoral officers.
Bharti will also review the final preparedness of the SIR in the state.
According to CEO office sources, Bharti is scheduled to reach the nation capital on September 20 and will hand over a report of his findings to the Chief Election Commissioner.
Notably, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been opposing SIR in the state alleging that through SIR the central government is trying to impose ‘NRC’.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the other hand is claiming that Trinamool Congress (TMC) is opposing SIR as the names of the Rohingya and illegal infiltrators will be deleted through SIR.
