TMC braces for Abhishek's SIR review meeting; several districts leaders fear reprimand

Kolkata, Nov 21 (PTI) With the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process crossing 20 days, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is set to conduct a virtual review on November 24, a meeting that party insiders say has triggered anxiety across leaders of several districts over possible reprimands.

Senior TMC leaders said Banerjee has received extensive organisational and consultant reports that revealed an uneven picture of field work by party workers on the exercise.

"Many districts have performed very well. But some blocks show a worrying lack of urgency," a senior functionary told PTI. "Abhishek will not hesitate to call out lapses. Everyone knows Monday will be a tough meeting." Banerjee had earlier, at an October 31 virtual meeting, directed all MPs and MLAs to spend an entire month on the ground. As Booth Level Officers (BLOs) began distributing enumeration forms from November 4, Booth Level Agents (BLAs), who are political party workers, were asked to shadow them continuously.

"The message was simple: no complacency, no excuses," a north Bengal coordinator of the TMC said.

According to party sources, Banerjee is dissatisfied with work in "specific pockets" of a handful of districts, where coordination between BLOs, BLAs and local leaders remained weak.

"He believes the second phase will be more challenging because the priority will shift to adding names of eligible voters who might have been left out," a TMC leader from Nadia district said.

Monday's meeting, scheduled for 4 pm, is expected to draw over 10,000 TMC leaders, including MPs, MLAs, district chiefs, block presidents and booth-level functionaries.

Abhishek will issue fresh instructions for the second lap of the SIR, with a focus on verifying documents of genuine voters whose names were dropped.

The party plans to use the SIR-specific "war rooms" for document preparation and tracking.

He may also outline a separate strategy for Matua-dominated segments of Ranaghat and Bongaon, and for sensitive constituencies in North Bengal.

A section of TMC leaders believes the BJP is "trying to influence SIR in 110-115 Assembly segments".

"There is a pattern. We are seeing attempts to unsettle voter rolls in key belts," a senior TMC MP said.

The BJP rejected the allegations, asserting that SIR is an Election Commission procedure.

"TMC is spinning conspiracy theories. The process is handled by EC, not the BJP," a state leader of the saffron party said.

Despite pockets of sluggish performance, those close to Abhishek Banerjee indicated he is broadly satisfied with the organisation's mobilisation.

"The ground movement has been strong. People have responded. But he wants more discipline," a source close to him said.

Banerjee is also expected to evaluate MPs and MLAs based on their SIR performance.

"Everyone knows he has the reports. Monday will make things very clear," a senior TMC leader remarked. PTI PNT NN