Battle of the rolls in Bengal

Ishita Ayan Dutt looks at how the SIR has widened political faultlines, and triggered anxiety among voters, ahead of Assembly polls next year

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Ever since the Election Commission (EC) triggered the special intensive revision (SIR) process in West Bengal, Naba Jana (name changed) of Paschim Medinipur has barely slept. The reason? On paper, his identity doesn't line up the way it should.

His surname differs from his father's in every document.

He has an affidavit to explain the discrepancy, but the fear persists: What if his name disappears from voter rolls? Will he be sent to a detention camp? What happens to his access to welfare schemes? Jana is not the only anxious one. The uncertainty is shared across class and faith in Bengal - each for their own reasons.

And with Assembly polls next year, the SIR is shaping the narrative across political fault lines.

TMC, EC face-off On November 28, a 10-member delegation from the TMC met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi, armed with a five-point agenda, and a list of booth-level officers (BLOS) and voters who reportedly succumbed to stress under mounting pressure ahead of the December 4 deadline for submission and uploading of enumeration forms (EFs).