The tug-of-war between West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has intensified, with both parties issuing threats over the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) handling of voter rolls.
At the heart of the dispute is the BJP’s demand for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. BJP legislator Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, who represents English Bazar in Malda district, declared on Wednesday that unless the ECI conducts an SIR across the state, her party will not allow assembly elections to be held.
“If the Election Commission refuses to conduct an SIR and still holds elections in Bengal, we will not allow the polls to take place,” Chaudhury warned, adding that the process must be carried out “even if it requires police or army deployment.” She further alleged that “50 to 60 dead voters” were being detected in several booths across the state, claiming that irregularities and electoral violence had marred past polls.
Her comments marked a sharp escalation in rhetoric. Drawing a parallel with the Mandal Commission protests in the 1990s, Chaudhury said, “If SIR is denied, Delhi will see flames again.”
The TMC immediately hit back, accusing the BJP of attempting to manipulate the poll process to its advantage. Joyprakash Majumdar, TMC’s state vice-president, said:
“What the BJP MLA has said today is exactly what we had flagged earlier. The BJP wants to control the Election Commission for its own political gain. This demand for SIR is only to help the BJP secure an advantage.”
TMC’s Malda district president Abdur Rahim Boxi questioned why Chaudhury had remained silent during elections in BJP-ruled Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh:
“She only remembers SIR when Bengal goes to polls.”
The Congress and Left Front also criticized the escalating political brinkmanship. Malda Congress MP Isha Khan Choudhury accused the BJP of “harassing people in the name of SIR,” while CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty alleged that “one party wants to retain fake voters while the other wants to delete the names of poor migrants.”
From the BJP camp, senior leader Agnimitra Paul defended the demand, arguing that SIR is “a normal process” that has been conducted in other states such as Bihar. “In 2005, Mamata Banerjee herself claimed there were one crore illegal voters in Bengal. What is the figure now?” she asked, calling for a transparent and error-free voter roll.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, speaking at a rally in Hooghly district, reiterated his call for a “flawless” voter list free from “Rohingyas or fake entries.” He assured supporters that citizenship would be granted to Hindu refugees from Bangladesh under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for those who arrived before 31 December 2024.
The Election Commission has so far refrained from engaging directly in the political crossfire. A senior official said the body would “act strictly within constitutional responsibility” and focus on ensuring that “the work is not obstructed, regardless of political statements.”
As the state gears up for its next assembly polls, the demand for SIR has become the latest flashpoint in Bengal’s deeply polarized politics — raising fears that the battle over voter rolls could trigger fresh rounds of street mobilizations and confrontations.
