West Bengal to add 14,000 polling booths next year’s Assembly polls

On Friday, August 29, 2025, West Bengal’s Chief Election Officer (CEO) office held a meeting with representatives of all major political parties of the state, where representatives were informed about the reorganization of voting cabins. According to the new regulation, there will be only 1200 voters instead of 1500 voters who have previously joined a polls cabin. This will lead to 14,000 voting cabinets in the state.

CEO Manoj Agarwal said political parties could offer written objections and complaints about the new regulation of additional polling cabins until September 8th.

Trinamool Congress Leader and State Minister Aroop Biswas attended the meeting on behalf of the ruling party of the state. Biswas, “We have no objection to the reorganization of the stands. We said that additional cabins should be at the same voting station. Voters do not need to go two kilometers away to vote,” he said.

Emphasizing that the Indian Election Commission (ECI) should be neutral and should not serve the interests of any political party, the Minister said that his party was against the special intensive revision (secret) in West Bengal. “Today there was no agenda in Sir at the meeting. Western Bengal will not be sir,” he said. Western Bengal Prime Minister Mamata Bannerjee and Party Secretary General Abhishek Bannerjee threatened protests if there were any initiatives to start Sir in Western Bengal.

The number of voting cabins in the state is approximately 80,661. If 13,816 stands are added to this, the total number of cabins will be 94.497. This will create a challenge to the opposition parties, not to the ruling party, because they will have to put stand agents in every ballot box in the state. Western Bengal Legislative Assembly Elections are planned in 2026.

BJP leader Shishir Bajoria, who attended the meeting, asked questions about the allegations that Deo did not ask questions about the reorganization of voting cabins of political parties.

Bajoria claimed that the names of Blo (Booth level officers) appointments were brought from the Trinamool Congress Office. Congress representatives Ashutosh Chatterjeee, Mrinal Nasskar Khwaja Ahmed, who attended the meeting, attended the entire party meeting with ‘Political Sir’ posters and banners. Samik Lahiri from CPI (M) attended the meeting.