West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday expressed strong objections over the Election Commission’s ongoing training of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), claiming her administration had not been informed in advance.

Speaking at a public event in Kolkata, Banerjee said she was unaware that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had initiated the training process under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She alleged that no permission was sought from the state’s chief secretary, raising questions over what she described as a unilateral move by the ECI. “The training has started without informing me or the state government. Why was the state kept in the dark?” Banerjee asked, adding that district magistrates had also failed to notify her office. She warned BLOs not to exclude any legitimate voters from the rolls and reminded them that they remain employees of the state government. “I urge BLOs to ensure that no name is wrongly deleted from the voter list. If someone is away for a few days or has gone on vacation, that doesn’t mean their name should be removed,” Banerjee said. “Many Bengali-speaking citizens are already facing harassment. We must stand by them.”

The ECI has commenced training for BLOs across multiple districts including Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas, and Murshidabad as part of the SIR process, which aims to update electoral rolls and ensure that only eligible Indian citizens remain registered. Similar exercises have recently begun in Bihar, marking the first SIR there since 2003. According to officials, the current drive will expand to other regions in phases and is being seen as part of preliminary preparations ahead of nationwide electoral roll revisions. The controversy comes amid a politically sensitive time in West Bengal, where concerns over voter eligibility, alleged infiltration, and electoral transparency have heightened tensions between the state government and the central election authority.