West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sparked a political firestorm by vehemently opposing the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) proposed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, raising the bogey of voter disenfranchisement and terming it a “backdoor drive for the National Register of Citizens (NRC)”. She has threatened to gherao the ECI if it proceeds with SIR roll revision in West Bengal.
The Trinamool Congress supremo’s repeated remarks, including directives from state government programmes to booth level officers (BLOs) to prevent voter deletions, have drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and caused alarm among teachers and government employees who will work as BLOs and are tasked with electoral duties. With West Bengal’s Assembly elections slated for 2026, the controversy over SIR threatens to escalate tensions in an already polarized state.
On Monday, the ECI released data from the 2002 SIR of West Bengal’s electoral roll, covering 11 of the state’s 23 districts—Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, Midnapore, and Bankura—spanning 103 of 294 Assembly constituencies. The remaining constituencies are expected to be updated soon. 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 BJPled 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 Illambazar, where she called on citizens to protest if their names were deleted from the voter list. “If anybody deletes your name, you should question the BLOs. All students who have turned 18 should register afresh.
Efforts are being made to implement NRC through SIR,” she claimed, framing the revision as a threat to marginalized communities, particularly Muslims, Dalits, and poor migrants. The TMC supremo’s concerns are echoed by party MP Mahua Moitra, who challenged the SIR in the Supreme Court, arguing that its structure mirrors the NRC and risks automatic voter exclusion without adequate safeguards. Moitra’s petition highlighted the ECI’s recent Special Intensive Revision in Bihar, which addressed routine updates like deaths and migrations, questioning the need for a second, more stringent revision so close to the polls. The petitioner argued that SIR’s 30-day document submission window disproportionately affects vulnerable communities, potentially disenfranchising lakhs.
The BJP, led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, has accused Banerjee of attempting to manipulate the electoral process for political gain. Adhikari alleges a “sudden spike” in voter enrolment applications in districts bordering Bangladesh, coinciding with state directives to issue domicile certificates. In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Adhikari urged the ECI to reject domicile certificates issued on or after July 25, 2025, during any potential SIR in West Bengal. He further claimed that Banerjee’s instructions to BLOs constitute an “unauthorized attempt to dilute the voter lists” by retaining “bogus” voters, including alleged Rohingya and illegal Bangladeshi nationals.
Adhikari pointed to a recent bypoll in Nadia’s Kaliganj constituency, where 8,000 names were removed from the voter list without objection, as evidence of widespread “ghost” voters. “SIR is critical to ensure free and fair elections. The Chief Minister’s opposition is driven by fear of losing proxy votes,” a BJP leader said, noting that the party sees the revision as a chance to clean up the electoral rolls. The ECI’s directive on Wednesday to West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Agarwal, to prepare a list of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and ensure their active participation in SIR has added fuel to the controversy. The commission emphasized that BLAs, appointed by political parties, are crucial for identifying anomalies during the revision process.
KOLKATA: However, Banerjee has opposed the disclosure of BLA lists, citing risks of leaks to rival parties. The political war of words has left BLOs, many of whom are teachers and government employees, in a precarious position. More than 1,000 teachers and non-teaching staff from non-governmentaided schools have formed the BLO-duty Protirodh Mancha, seeking exemption from BLO duties due to security concerns and workload pressures from new semester exams. “The political climate is charged. We fear becoming targets of voter backlash,” said Neelkantha Ghosh, a secondary school teacher.
Another teacher, Srimanta Dhara, argued that teachers should focus on education, not electoral tasks, especially during exam season. A government employee, speaking anonymously, expressed fear of repercussions from the state government, noting Banerjee’s remarks as a direct threat. The ECI estimates a need for over 80,000 BLOs for the revision, but growing resistance among employees could disrupt the process. A senior officer in the state Chief Electoral Office assured that security arrangements are being made but declined to provide details. He also said that the remuneration to BLOs and other poll officials was being doubled and special incentives had been announced.
The SIR controversy is poised to dominate West Bengal’s political discourse as the 2026 elections approach. While the TMC’s narrative of protecting marginalized voters aligns with its broader anti-BJP stance, the BJP sees the revision as a chance to challenge the ruling party’s electoral dominance. In the 2021 Assembly elections, a notable number of constituencies witnessed tight races, with 36 seats decided by margins of fewer than 5,000 votes, and the BJP winning 22 of these, compared to TMC’s 13, highlighting the competitive nature of the polls in certain areas.
Veteran journalist Suman Chattopadhyay told The Sunday Guardian: “The Trinamool is fighting tooth and nail against the clean-up by the Election Commission because it is aware about how much these ghost voters help in its victories. On the other hand, BJP workers are charged up—confident that once dead, fake and Bangladeshi voters are removed, no one can save Mamata Banerjee from losing power.”
