EC's little helpers in Bengal

NEW DELHI: With the first EVM button for the 14th Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal due to beep on May 10, the civil society in the state is gearing up to keep a hawk eye on the battle of the ballot.
A panel comprising retired senior bureaucrats and distinguished citizens has taken up the responsibility of joining the crusade for fair and clean elections along with the original poll watchdog - EC.
The panel, West Bengal Election Watch Committee (WBEWC), is modelled on similar bodies functioning successfully in Gujarat, Karnataka, MP, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.
B P Saha (IPS, retd) and convenor of the panel said, "Our first objective is to investigate the background of candidates and disseminate this information to the voters so they can make an informed choice."
This 17-member panel also plans to look into the poll expenses of the candidates and correction of existing electoral rolls.
Saha says: "EC has directed chief electoral officers to hand over affidavits filed by the candidates to the public at a nominal rate. We will buy these affidavits and investigate the cases."
The poll panel has also asked candidates to file expenditure returns every three days. "We will buy these copies and verify the truth," Saha said.
Some good news for voters. "Names of many voters don''t figure on the lists. We will verify their papers and meet the EC representatives for the correction of electoral rolls," Saha said.
"We are also trying to rope in members like well-known Bengali author Mahashweta Devi," he added.