Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee unsettled by SIR exercise: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari

Kolkata: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with Trinamool Congress booth-level agents (BLAs) indicated that she was "unsettled" by the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

Adhikari asserted that the SIR exercise was being conducted in a transparent manner and alleged that the chief minister’s objections were not finding acceptance among the people.

"Banerjee’s holding of a meeting with Trinamool Congress BLAs today has made it apparent that she is unsettled by the SIR exercise," Adhikari told reporters outside the Assembly.

Addressing a meeting of her party's BLAs at the Netaji Indoor stadium here, Banerjee lashed out at the poll panel, alleging that there were "gross errors" in the draft rolls published following the enumeration phase of the SIR in the state.

Asserting that days are numbered for the TMC government, the BJP MLA from Nandigram said "Banerjee will become a former chief minister after the April (2026) elections."

Regarding Banerjee's claim that micro-observers for the SIR are being brought from other states, Adhikari said, "I challenge her if she can show even one out of 3,000 micro-observers is from another state, I will apologise to the people. But if Banerjee is proved wrong, then she should also apologise."

The BJP leader said the Election Commission (EC) had issued guidelines for central government officials posted in West Bengal to work as micro-observers during the SIR exercise.

Responding to Banerjee’s attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Adhikari said the criticism stemmed from her inability to "get a pliable officer to mislead the EC".

"She is attacking the home minister even though he has no role with regard to the EC," he said.

Adhikari further claimed that the EC and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in the state were ensuring the independent conduct of the SIR exercise.

He also said Banerjee was unhappy over the appointment of IAS officers as special observers by the EC without consulting the state government.

The chief minister has alleged that the poll panel was appointing observers without informing the state government and working to further the BJP’s interests.