JITTERY MAMATA OPPOSES EC'S SIR IN BENGAL

Assembly constituencies are expected to be updated soon.

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This release comes as the ECI has completed the SIR in poll-bound Bihar, where concerns about disenfranchisement have fuelled vehement Opposition protests even in the national capital and affected Parliament’s functioning.

The Trinamool Congress, led by its supremo Mamata Banerjee, has questioned ECI's push for a fresh SIR in West Bengal. It has pointed a finger at the timing—less than a year before the 2026 state elections.

On June 24, the ECI justified the revision, citing the need to clean electoral rolls due to rapid urbanization, migration, first-time voters, unreported deaths, and the inclusion of undocumented foreigners.

The commission mandated a 30-day window for voters to submit one of the 11 specified documents to verify citizenship, notably excluding widely available documents like Aadhaar, ECI photo identity cards, or ration cards.

Veteran BJP leader Rahul Sinha said: “After 35 lakh bogus voters were deleted in Bihar, panic has clearly set in. TMC knows that if the voter rolls are cleaned properly, it’s game over for them.”

Mamata Banerjee has taken a hardline stance against SIR, alleging it is a covert attempt by the BJP-led Central government to implement the NRC in West Bengal.

Speaking at an administrative meeting in Birbhum on July 21, she instructed BLOs, who are primarily state government employees, to ensure no voter names are removed from the electoral roll.

“The ECI takes over only after poll dates are announced. Until then, the administration lies with the state government. You are state employees—do not harass anyone needlessly,” she said, urging BLOs to protect voters from undue scrutiny.

Banerjee’s rhetoric intensified on Tuesday during a government distribution program in Birbhum’s Il-lambazar, where she called on citizens to protest if their names were deleted from the voter list.