TMC ACCUSED OF HIJACKING SIR PROCESS IN BENGAL

The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal has entered a crucial phase, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) striving to ensure maximum transparency and accuracy ahead of the pivotal 2026 Assembly elections.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

As part of the SIR process, officials have fanned out across the state’s urban wards and rural clusters, checking voter lists for duplicate, ineligible, or allegedly bogus entries—a move that has stirred strong political reactions and close monitoring by party cadres.

In public, the Trinamool Congress has decided to target the Election Commission and the BJP’s top leadership in an effort to turn the confusion and despair of voters into public anger.

Already, party leaders have gone into overdrive to blame the poll panel and the BJP for the purported suicides of at least 17 people in the past 10 days since the rollout of SIR. The party’s resolve to mobilise public support hides the apprehension that SIR may result in large-scale deletion of names from the voters' list.

In addition to the public posturing, party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has announced a slew of proactive measures to maintain close vigil over the Election Commission and its foot soldiers—the Booth-Level Officers (BLOs).

Last Friday, at a marathon virtual meeting attended by about 18,000 TMC leaders and workers, Banerjee declared the SIR revision an "acid test" for his party's resolve to protect the Constitutional rights of Bengal's citizens. He accused the BJP of seeking to "divide Bengal and disenfranchise minorities, Matuas, and poor voters," warning that the voter list revision, announced on October 27, is being used to manipulate the rolls ahead of the crucial 2026 Assembly elections.

Citing widespread reports of names vanishing from the electoral rolls in Natabari, Mathabhanga, Ashoknagar, and Basirhat-with entire stretches, such as Basirhat's S. No. 859-892, blank in the online records-Banerjee alleged a coordinated "Silent Invisible Rigging" targeting Bengali voters under bureaucratic cover.