SIR in Bengal: A 10-member delegation of Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Friday, sharply challenging the rationale, neutrality and execution of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The party alleged that the process has turned “punitive”, disproportionately targets Bengalis, and has already resulted in deaths of several Booth Level Officers (BLOs), prompting the delegation to accuse the Election Commission of India (ECI) of having “blood on their hands”.
TMC MP Derek O’Brien said after the meeting, “10 MPs from the All India Trinamool Congress met with the Chief Election Commissioner Mr Kumar and his team. We first handed over to him a list of almost 40 dead because of the SIR process. We started the meeting by telling him that Mr Kumar and the Election Commission of India have blood on their hands.”
Other TMC MPs present included Dola Sena, Saket Gokhale, Mamata Thakur and Mahua Moitra.
Is the SIR intended to verify voters — or to question Bengalis’ identity?
TMC’s memorandum questioned why West Bengal alone was facing an extensive SIR, while other border states were exempt.
The delegation stated: “The SIR’s real purpose now feels deeply questionable. Is it meant to verify voters, or to cast doubt on the very identity of Bengalis? If infiltration is the issue, why are states like Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar left out of the process?”
“Even in Assam, you failed to institute the SIR, instead choosing an eyewash by the name of ‘Special Revision’. Only Bengal is being singled out. So we ask again: Was the SIR meant to protect the voter list or to quietly push Bengalis out of it?” the TMC questioned.
The Election Commission is currently conducting the SIR across a wide set of states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, as well as the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
If the electoral rolls are ‘unreliable’, why were they used for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls?
The TMC further pointed out that the same electoral rolls currently under scrutiny were relied upon during major national and state elections in the past year.
“The same electoral rolls that the ECI now questions were good enough to elect the country’s Lok Sabha just last year. Three major Assembly Elections have taken place since. Families stood in long queues believing their democratic rights were protected. How did those rolls suddenly become ‘unreliable’ within a year? And if the rolls really are unreliable then why not dissolve the Lok Sabha that was elected by these ‘unreliable voters’?”
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections delivered a return to power for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), though the party fell short of the 272-seat majority on its own — winning 240 seats.
With its allies, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured enough support to form the new government, maintaining continuity at the Centre.
In West Bengal, the TMC emerged as the clear winner, claiming 29 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats.
Who is accountable for BLO deaths during the SIR?
A central focus of TMC’s complaint was the reported deaths of Booth Level Officers across states during the SIR exercise.
They argued: “Across several states in India, numerous BLOs have lost their lives while carrying out their SIR duties. In several cases, BLOs have been forced to commit suicide, citing the inhuman pressure by the ECI, and in other cases, families have revealed that the BLOs were forced to work under inhuman conditions that resulted in health failures and finally their untimely deaths. Who will take responsibility for these lives lost? The Election Commission or Chief Election Commissioner Mr Gyanesh Kumar?”
The TMC alleged inadequate training, unrealistic deadlines, and systemic pressure that amounted to institutional neglect: “We have seen how the BLOs received insufficient training, next to no support, were piled down with unrealistic deadlines and pressured until many of them finally succumbed to illness or death. Is the blood of these avoidable deaths not on the Chief Electoral Commissioners’ hands?”
Around 40 Booth Level Officers in West Bengal have tragically lost their lives during the ongoing revision exercise, with families citing intense pressure and inadequate institutional support as contributing factors.
Is the SIR process being applied in a partisan manner?
The TMC also accused the ECI of selective responsiveness, suggesting it reacts swiftly to concerns raised by the BJP but ignores those brought forward by the Opposition.
They stated: “The Trinamool Congress has raised questions about the neutrality and efficacy of the SIR process time and time again; yet the Election Commission has not taken any concrete steps to address our concerns. Yet, when the BJP raises a frivolous issue, it is taken up with utmost priority… Does this not reek of bias and partisan practice, which you seek to address, ultimately to the detriment of your constitutional autonomy?”
The TMC cited decisions on external Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and exclusions of data-entry operators from Bangla Sahayata Kendras as examples that “reveal bias”.
Is ECI enabling voter deletion narratives promoted by BJP?
The TMC delegation also pointed to evolving rules and narratives around electoral procedures in other states, alleging that these changes appear politically convenient for the BJP.
Their statement added: “In Bihar, we saw how suddenly the Model Code of Conduct became malleable with new restrictions on public mobilisation, spending and new provisions of digital complaints all geared to aid the BJP. In Bengal, BJP leaders are claiming that ~1 Cr voters’ names will be deleted from the rolls. The ECI has taken no cognizance of these comments, nor have they negated the fear mongering by the BJP. That leads us to ask two questions, is the ECI working upon command of the BJP? Is every sacrosanct provision now tamperable to suit a single political party’s agenda?”
SIR in Bengal
The SIR in West Bengal commenced on 4 November 2025, when enumeration forms started being distributed to voters across the state.
As of late November, roughly 3.8 crore out of 7.6 crore voters’ forms have been digitised — about 49.3% of the total.
The process of form submission and digitisation is scheduled to continue until 4 December 2025, with the draft electoral rolls expected to be published on 9 December 2025 and the final voter list due on 7 February 2026.
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