Kolkata, Jan 10 || The Election Commission of India (ECI) is unhappy over the low number of private housing complexes with 300 or more residents identified so far in Bengal for setting up polling booths for the crucial Assembly elections scheduled later this year.
Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that so far, only 69 such private housing complexes with 300 or more residents have been identified in West Bengal, far less than the estimated requirement.
Of the 69 such private housing complexes, South 24 Parganas district houses the maximum 25, followed by 22 in the North 24 Parganas district, with both districts being adjacent to the state capital of Kolkata.
Surprisingly, in Kolkata itself, only 10 such housing complexes have been identified, out of which eight are in North Kolkata and two in South Kolkata. This low number of identified private housing complexes in the state capital for setting up polling booths surprised the Commission, sources in the CEO's office said.
Five such private housing complexes had been identified in Hooghly district, followed by four in another Kolkata-adjacent district of Howrah and three in East Burdwan district.