In a significant development ahead of the West Bengal Assembly Elections, the State’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal rushed to New Delhi on Monday night following directives from the Supreme Court. He is scheduled to meet the Full Bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) today to discuss the roadmap for the final publication of the electoral roll and election preparedness.

The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, issued an order on Monday extending the scrutiny period for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by seven days beyond the initial February 14 deadline. This means final scrutiny will now continue until February 21, effectively pushing back the publication of the final voter list. This delay has also sparked speculation regarding a potential shift in the announcement of the election schedule.

Before boarding his flight at Kolkata airport, when asked if the final list could be published by February 28, CEO Manoj Agarwal responded firmly, “Why not? The work is in progress, and micro-observers are providing full support.” Today’s high-level meeting in Delhi will likely finalize the new publication date and review the logistics for the upcoming high-stakes Assembly polls in West Bengal.