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Bengal SIR: The Election Commission’s decision to launch a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has triggered a political face-off between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the TMC alleged that the move could be used to strike off genuine voters’ names at the BJP’s behest, the saffron party welcomed the exercise as a means to eliminate “illegal voters”.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the second phase of the SIR will be conducted across 12 states and Union Territories — including West Bengal — from November 4, with draft rolls to be published on December 9 and final rolls on February 7. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said the exercise would cover about 51 crore voters and aims to ensure that “no eligible elector is left out and no ineligible elector is included”.

TMC Raises Concerns Over ‘Deletion of Eligible Voters’

Reacting sharply to the ECI’s announcement, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said his party would “democratically protest” any attempt to remove legitimate voters from the rolls.

“If any attempts are being made to delete the names of any eligible voter, there will be protests. We have no problem with electoral roll revision, but in the name of it, if someone tries to delete the name of any eligible voter at the behest of the BJP, we will protest democratically,” Ghosh said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

VIDEO | Kolkata: On the second phase of SIR that includes West Bengal, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh says, “We have no problem with electoral roll revision, but if any attempt is made to delete the names of eligible voters at the behest of the BJP, we will protest democratically.… pic.twitter.com/0eZzi1eY2v

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 27, 2025

He urged the people of West Bengal to remain calm and not “fall into the trap of the BJP”.

“We would urge everyone to maintain calm and not fall into the trap of the BJP. Just remember that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are with the people of West Bengal,” he added.

BJP Welcomes ECI’s Move, Calls It a Step to Weed Out Illegal Voters

The BJP, on the other hand, described the ECI’s move as a necessary step to clean up the voters’ list.

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the revision would expose infiltrators who allegedly form a part of the TMC’s vote base.

“No illegal voters will be spared. Those who are legitimate voters have nothing to fear. But the infiltrators, who are the vote bank of the TMC, will be weeded out,” Adhikari told PTI.

Echoing the sentiment, Union Minister and former West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said the SIR process had been long announced by the ECI and would proceed as scheduled.

“SIR was announced today in 12 states, including Bengal, and the process will start from tomorrow. The Election Commission had already announced that SIR was going to happen. Some people were jumping around in Bengal over this… now let’s see what those people will do because SIR has to happen anyway. Even before this, SIR has been done 12 times,” Majumdar said, as quoted by ANI from North 24 Parganas.

#WATCH | North 24 Parganas, West Bengal: On the second phase of SIR, Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar says, "SIR was announced today in 12 states, including Bengal, and the process will start from tomorrow. The Election Commission had already… pic.twitter.com/YyzOm2UWWt

— ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2025

‘No Hurdles in Bengal’: CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Implementation

Amid political sparring, CEC Gyanesh Kumar clarified that there would be “no hurdles” in carrying out the SIR in West Bengal, as state governments are constitutionally obliged to cooperate with the Election Commission.

“There is no hurdle. The EC is doing its duty and state governments are constitutionally bound to discharge their duties… all constitutional bodies carry out their responsibility as enshrined in the Constitution,” he said, citing Article 324.

Kumar further stated that maintaining law and order is a state responsibility, adding that governments must provide the necessary personnel to the ECI for electoral roll preparation and the conduct of polls.

The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer is scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday at 6 pm to address details of the upcoming revision process.

The SIR marks the ninth such nationwide exercise since Independence — the last one conducted between 2002 and 2004. West Bengal last underwent a special intensive revision in 2002.