Around 2,000 supporters of Left parties marched to the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) here on Wednesday, demanding that no Assembly elections be announced until the voter list was thoroughly rectified and all genuine voters were included.

Responding to the call by the CPM and its partners in the Left Front, the supporters marched to the CEO’s office around 3pm and began a sit-in demonstration that would continue through the night.

CPM state secretary Md Salim and veteran Biman Bose led the march.

“Polls with an incorrect voter list, and without lakhs of genuine voters is an absurdity, and we cannot allow it. While the Election Commission is actually implementing the BJP’s narrative, the state government is misleading people and has done nothing,” Salim said, alleging a tacit understanding between the BJP and the constitutional authority responsible for conducting elections.

The protest unfolded against the backdrop of the publication of the preliminary final electoral roll in Bengal on February 28 as part of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR). During the revision process, over 60 lakh voters have been either omitted or marked “under adjudication” for various reasons.

Senior CPM leader and former MP Sujan Chakraborty said the party was compelled to march to the CEO’s office.

“We were compelled to visit the EC office today. Is it possible to conduct a poll in the state when the voters’ list remains incomplete? The status of many voters marked ‘under adjudication’ on the list is literally a dilemma for them. Neither is he a voter at this moment, nor is he in a position to submit an application to become a voter. This is almost similar to the situation that occurred in Assam,” he said.

Chakraborty said chief minister Mamata Banerjee should have ensured administrative vigil during the SIR.

“Being the executive head of the state, she should have taken care to get the names and surnames of voters rectified. But none of her BDOs took care to rectify the mistakes. Those errors were left unrectified, eventually creating such a situation that she could approach the court. It is she who ultimately became responsible for involving the judiciary in this part of the SIR process,” he said.

He said the protesters would stay put at the CEO’s office throughout the night.

Protest after ‘suicide’

Rafiq Ali Gazi, 40, a South 24-Parganas resident, was found hanging at his residence on Tuesday night after reportedly discovering that his name was marked “under adjudication” on the preliminary final electoral roll.

Rafiq, a tricycle van peddler, stayed at Ghola Naipara under the jurisdiction of the Usti police station in Magrahat. His wife Amina Bibi lodged a police complaint, blaming chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and CEO Manoj Agarwal for the alleged suicide.

Trinamool Congress supporters staged a demonstration with the body and blocked the Usti-Shirakol road for nearly an hour.