Kolkata, 09 March (H.S.): The full bench of the Election Commission of India arrived in Kolkata on Sunday night amid discussions over election preparations and issues related to the voter list in West Bengal. A 12-member delegation led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is on a visit to the state. Meetings with various political parties are scheduled for Monday.

According to the Commission, eight recognised political parties at the state and national levels have been invited for the meeting. Each party will meet the Commission separately, with 15 minutes allotted to each delegation.

The All India Trinamool Congress delegation will include former Director General of Police and current Rajya Sabha candidate Rajeev Kumar. This will be the first time that the former Indian Police Service officer will represent the ruling party in an official meeting. According to party sources, the delegation will also include state ministers Firhad Hakim and Chandrima Bhattacharya.

Apart from the Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi are also part of the visiting delegation. Two Deputy Election Commissioners — Manish Garg and Pawan Kumar Sharma — are also in the state.

The Chief Election Commissioner and other officials were received at Kolkata airport by the state’s Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, the Home Secretary, the Director General of Police and the Chief Electoral Officer.

Earlier on Sunday afternoon, Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti had also reached Kolkata. Other officials expected in the state include Commission Director General Ashish Goyal, Deputy Director P. Pawan, Apoorva Kumar Singh, and video editor Ranjit Kumar Srivastava.

Meanwhile, when the Chief Election Commissioner’s convoy was passing through VIP Road on Sunday night, activists of Left parties staged a protest and raised “Go Back” slogans.

On the other hand, the sit-in protest by the ruling Trinamool Congress over the Special Intensive Revision issue entered its third day on Sunday. According to Commission sources, out of nearly 60 lakh voters under consideration in the state, around eight lakh cases have been disposed of so far.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh