SIR rollout in Bengal from Tuesday amid surcharged political climate

Kolkata, Nov 3 (PTI) As West Bengal braces for the EC's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls beginning Tuesday, political temperatures are soaring to a high level, with the routine administrative exercise turning into a political battleground, one that pits the BJP's clout and the poll body's push for "transparency" against the TMC's grassroots resistance ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

While the BJP has welcomed the SIR as a step towards ensuring greater transparency in the electoral rolls, the ruling TMC has questioned its timing and intent, alleging that the Election Commission (EC) is acting under pressure from the saffron party to manipulate the voter list ahead of the state elections.

With both parties treating the SIR as a prelude to the 2026 Assembly elections, the contest has morphed into what many in political circles describe as "the battle of two forces, the administrative and the organisational." The BJP, buoyed by the Election Commission's "proactive stance" and the possibility of central deployment, is pinning hopes on what it calls a "cleansing" of West Bengal's voter list.

The TMC, meanwhile, has activated its battle-hardened booth network, determined to ensure that no "genuine voter" is struck off the rolls.

The exercise, involving house-to-house verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from November 4 to December 4, has already turned into a flashpoint.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will lead a rally in Kolkata on Tuesday to protest what her party calls a "politically motivated revision" aimed at disenfranchising minorities and marginalised groups.

Her nephew and TMC's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, has called for "man-marking" of BLOs and directed the appointment of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) across all 84,000 booths to monitor every step of the process.

In a virtual meeting with TMC leaders on Friday, Abhishek instructed that BLOs be "kept under constant watch" and that party agents accompany them during fieldwork to prevent "arbitrary deletions." He has also ordered the setting up of war rooms in every Assembly constituency, complete with data teams and communication links to coordinate the exercise.

He has said that the next six months will be the "acid test" for the party's organisational machinery.

Despite the urgency, EC data till October 30 show the TMC trailing its rivals in appointing BLAs. The BJP has deployed 294 BLA-1s and 7,912 BLA-2s, while the CPI(M) has appointed 143 and 6,175 respectively.

The TMC has so far managed only 36 BLA-1s and 2,349 BLA-2s, though party insiders insist the shortfall will be bridged by Monday.

The BJP has accused the ruling party of inflating the voter rolls. Citing administrative inputs, the saffron camp claims that over 40 lakh "duplicate or fake" names existed in Bengal's rolls during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and expects the SIR to strike off at least a crore names.

"Those who thrived on ghost voters and bogus ballots are panicking," BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said.

TMC leaders have responded with equally sharp warnings. Barrackpore MP Partha Bhowmik recently said that if even one "genuine voter's name" was deleted, "local BJP leaders will not be allowed to step out of their homes." Abhishek Banerjee has threatened to bring "one lakh people from Bengal" to the EC office in Delhi if voter names are arbitrarily removed.

The BJP counters that the TMC's so-called "booth muscle" thrives under the protection of a pliant police force.

Amid this charged backdrop, the poll panel has trained over 80,000 BLOs and issued a 16-point guideline along with a mobile app to streamline operations.

Training for BLAs, the party representatives who will shadow the BLOs, ends on November 3.

Yet the trasining has not been without hiccups. Teachers deputed as BLOs have protested being marked "absent" in school registers during training.

Many have demanded central security for both training and fieldwork, citing threats and political intimidation.

"We are being sent to volatile areas without protection," a teacher said in North 24 Parganas district.

The TMC has alleged that four people have died by suicide fearing the loss of their voting rights, while another is hospitalised after consuming poison.

The BJP has rubbished the claims as "manufactured melodrama".

Observers see the unfolding tension as a continuation of West Bengal's political pattern, a contest not merely for votes, but for control. In both the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP relied heavily on central forces, while the TMC drew strength from its disciplined booth machinery.

The results went the TMC's way both times.

"Bengal's politics has always been fought at the booth level. The SIR will test not only the integrity of the voter list but also the resilience of these two armies, one administrative, one organisational," said a Kolkata-based political scientist.

The enumeration phase will be followed by publication of the draft rolls on December 9. Objections can be filed till January 8, with the final voter list set for release on February 7, just two months before the 2026 Assembly elections expected in April-May. PTI PNT NN