Chief election commissioner M S Gill has said that April 11 or 12 has been recommended as probable dates for assembly elections in West Bengal, which goes to polls along with some other states early next year.
West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sabyasachi Sen has suggested the dates to the election commission while requesting for a one-day poll for the state, he told newsmen in Siliguri.
The CEC, who was here to review the election process in six districts of north Bengal, however, said the EC is yet to finalise the dates for elections in West Bengal. Expressing satisfaction over the progress of drawing up of the voters list in north Bengal, he stressed the inclusion of names of genuine voters and deletion of the names of those who had died. The CEC said the Centre had sanctioned Rs 150 crore to purchase 1.5 lakh new electronic voting machines to be used in West Bengal and the other states going to polls. The Election Commission has a stock of 1.5 lakh voting machines. Orders for new voting machines had already been placed and were expected to be delivered in a month, he said. Bureau Report