EC flags poor booth infrastructure, meets officials on poll readiness

Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday with the state chief secretary, home secretary and all district election officers (DEOs) to review poll preparedness . The meeting will be chaired by chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and attended by Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal, along with special observers Subrata Gupta and N K Mishra, sources said.

Meanwhile, the commission has expressed strong dissatisfaction over inadequate infrastructure at several polling booths across the state, holding the govt responsible for the lapses.

EC has now directed the administration to appoint an officer of secretary rank in each district to oversee the work. These officers will be tasked with physically inspecting booths and ensuring necessary infrastructure is put in place on priority.

The CEC is also scheduled to meet all observers in the state on Wednesday to review their preparedness and functioning ahead of the elections.