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Bengal SIR: BJP posts videos alleging EROs refused Form 7 submissions

The party seeks EC action after video proof emerge from several areas, such as Bongaon Uttar, Bongaon Dakshin, Gaighata, Haroa, Kulti, Habibpur, Chhatna and Behala Purba

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Shailesh Khanduri
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Bengal SIR Hearings BJP Protest

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday alleged dereliction of duty by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) during West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, posting a string of videos that it said show officials refusing to accept Form 7 applications and denying acknowledgements across multiple districts.

The party demanded Election Commission intervention, claiming the alleged refusals were obstructing lawful objections seeking deletion of ineligible or duplicate names from the voter list.

Amit Malviya, the BJP’s National IT Department head and the party’s co-incharge for West Bengal, shared clips on X from Haroa (North 24 Parganas), Kulti (Paschim Bardhaman), Habibpur (Malda), Chhatna (Bankura) and Behala Purba (Kolkata), showing arguments outside ERO offices, dharnas and exchanges with officials.

Malviya highlighted alleged illegal refusals by EROs in three constituencies – Bongaon Uttar, Bongaon Dakshin, and Gaighata – to accept Form 7, used for objecting to voter list deletions, with video footage showing crowds gathered outside a Bongaon ERO office attempting submissions.

The BJP said EROs are required to accept Form 7 submissions and issue acknowledgements as per procedure, and alleged that refusal violates the rules governing electoral roll revision.

In Haroa, Malviya alleged an ERO refused to accept Form 7 applications, prompting BJP workers to protest at the office. 

In Kulti, the party claimed submissions were refused and workers staged a dharna. 

In Habibpur, the BJP alleged ERO Raju Mandal locked the office and left, while staff refused to accept forms, prompting a prolonged protest outside. 

The BJP also cited refusals in Chhatna and Behala Purba, where it alleged ERO Reena (Rina) Ghosh rejected applications without citing reasons.

The BJP has linked the alleged refusals to its claim that “ghost voters” and duplicate entries remain on the rolls, and alleged that officials were blocking or delaying objections under political pressure. 

West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya warned that the party would intensify agitation if the issue continued, and said the party would not allow elections to be held if objections under the SIR process were not addressed. 

“If the SIR process ends like this in West Bengal, we will not allow elections to take place here. Make the process smooth, this is our demand to the Election Commission,” he told reporters. 

He urged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to visit districts such as Hooghly, Murshidabad, Birbhum and South 24 Parganas to assess the situation.

The ruling Trinamool Congress countered the BJP’s charge, alleging that bulk Form 7 submissions were being used to target genuine voters. 

A political storm erupted in Bankura’s Khatra subdivision on January 13 after TMC workers intercepted a vehicle allegedly carrying thousands of Form 7 applications. Police took custody of the vehicle and documents and initiated an investigation.

State minister Jyotsna Mandi and Bankura organisational district TMC president Tarashankar Ray reached the Khatra police station after the incident. “Bundles of filled-up Form 7s were being taken together. 

The intention was clear to delete valid voters’ names by any means,” Mandi alleged, while Ray claimed BJP workers filled “hundreds of such forms sitting at party offices”.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee echoed the charge from Nabanna, displaying photographs of the seized forms. 

“This is how names are being deleted. Files after files, sacks of papers. This is a conspiracy to snatch away voting rights,” she said, accusing the BJP of “information theft and murder of democracy”. 

In a separate post, the All India Trinamool Congress alleged BJP affiliates were pressuring officials in multiple districts to accept bulk Form 7 submissions for mass deletions, claiming this violated Election Commission limits set out in an October 2025 notification, 50 forms per day before publication of the draft roll and 10 thereafter.

The BJP rejected the allegations and accused the TMC of intimidation and violence. 

Former Union minister and BJP leader Subhas Sarkar said booth-level agents were legally submitting Form 7 objections to the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer after officials refused to accept them earlier. 

“Our workers were attacked, the forms were snatched, and two party workers are untraceable,” he alleged.

Malviya also accused the TMC of abducting a BJP worker near the Khatra SDO office for “doing what the Constitution allows”. 

He alleged party workers were locked out of the police station while “around 60 TMC cadres camped inside, turning a place meant for protection into a party office of intimidation”. 

“BJP will not bow… Bengal will not be bullied,” he wrote, warning that the 2026 elections would be about “saving democracy”.

The Election Commission, meanwhile, maintained that Form 7 is available on its website and can be submitted by any voter, stressing that submission of the form does not automatically lead to deletion of a name. 

“Each objection is verified through due process before any decision is taken,” officials said.

With both sides trading allegations over the SIR process, the Election Commission is expected to face growing pressure to ensure uniform acceptance of objections and a transparent verification process ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

BJP Election Commission Mamata Banerjee Trinamool Congress TMC Election Commission of India Bengal BJP Amit malviya Electoral roll electoral rolls voter registration Voter List Election Commission of India (ECI) Special Intensive Revision Bengal SIR