suvbsCEC Gyanesh Kumar arrives in Kolkata, to hold meetings on poll preparedness over next two days

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday (March 8, 2026) arrived in Kolkata on a three-day visit to poll-bound West Bengal. Mr. Kumar will lead the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to review the preparations for the Assembly elections scheduled within the next two months.

The CEC will hold meetings with officials of West Bengal government and representatives of political parties over the next few days.

According to ECI sources, Mr. Kumar will hold a meeting with political parties from 10 a.m. on Monday (March 9). Representatives of eight recognised parties will meet the CEC and the full bench. About 15 minutes have been allotted for delegations of each political party.

Later in the day, the ECI officials will hold a meeting with officials of the West Bengal government, including senior police officials, Superintendents of Police and District Magistrates. The ECI will hold a press conference on March 10 (Tuesday).

The ECI on February 28 had published the State’s electoral rolls of about 7.04 crore voters after a four-month process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The list contains about 60 lakh voters whose right to vote remains under judicial adjudication. The Supreme Court had directed engagement of judicial officers for the process.

The crucial question remains whether the names of all the 60 lakh electors will be cleared before the announcement of the dates of polls. West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said supplementary electoral rolls containing names of voters under adjudication, whose names were cleared by judicial officers, would be released soon.