A political storm has broken out in West Bengal ahead of the upcoming house-to-house revision of electoral rolls known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The state’s ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) has declared it will stage a major rally on November 4 in Kolkata to protest the exercise, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of conducting a covert campaign to exclude legitimate voters.
According to reports, TMC Chairperson Mamata Banerjee and General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee will lead the march from the Ambedkar Statue on Red Road to Jorasanko Thakurbari. The TMC alleges that the SIR is “silent, invisible rigging” aimed at certain communities, particularly the influential Matua group in North 24 Parganas.
In response, the opposition BJP has criticised the TMC’s agitation as a diversion from issues such as unemployment, corruption and influx of illegal immigrants. BJP leadership insists the SIR is a legitimate effort to clean the voter list, identify ineligible voters and protect electoral integrity.
The SIR exercise, which includes West Bengal among the states, requires all eligible voters to be verified and reportedly involves door-to-door enumeration beginning November 4. The TMC contends the process instils fear among citizens and may result in the deletion of valid voters. Meanwhile, the ECI has stressed that the revision is an established mechanism to ensure fair electoral rolls.
This confrontation sets the stage for heightened political tension as West Bengal gears up for its next assembly elections. With both sides framing the exercise as either reform or exclusion, the credibility and outcome of the SIR in the state will be closely watched in coming weeks.
