The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has become a major political flashpoint in West Bengal just as the civic elections approach. The BJP is preparing a statewide outreach drive to explain its position on the exercise, while Opposition parties are joining hands to challenge what they describe as irregularities in the voter list revision. The BJP aims to speak to 58,800 people across all 294 Assembly constituencies.
On the other side, the Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), Congress and other Opposition groups are organising a joint convention in Kolkata on November 21. The dispute revolves around claims of wrongful deletion of voters' names, a huge backlog of pending appeals, and demands that no eligible voter should be left out of the rolls.
BJP Plans Outreach Across 294 Assembly Constituencies
The BJP’s West Bengal unit is readying special teams for every one of the 294 Assembly constituencies. Their job is to gauge public opinion on SIR and the Opposition’s campaign against it. Each team will speak to at least 200 people, according to an IANS report, taking the total outreach to 58,800 individuals. The exercise will cover a wide cross-section of society- farmers, labourers, teachers, doctors, lawyers and representatives of social organisations. The teams will collect feedback on the revision process and use pamphlets and factual material to explain the BJP’s stand. Reports from each constituency will also be sent up to the party’s central leadership.
Opposition to Hold Joint Convention on November 21
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), Congress and CPI(ML) Liberation have joined forces with civil society groups under the banner of the ‘Sara Bangla Votadhikar Raksha Joint Forum’.They have fixed a convention in Kolkata for November 21. People whose names have been struck off the electoral rolls, along with representatives of social organisations, will be invited to share their experiences.
The Opposition wants the civic elections held only after every eligible voter has had a chance to get their name restored. They have also demanded that the polls be deferred until the revised electoral rolls are published in January 2027.
Opposition Questions SIR Process, Seeks Accountability
Former MP Jawhar Sircar has once again written to the Chief Electoral Officer seeking answers on alleged lapses in the revision exercise. He claims nearly 12 lakh names were deleted without following the prescribed procedure and has asked why this happened even while appeals were still pending before tribunals. Joint Forum convenor Prasenjit Basu has also sought details on how many excluded voters have managed to get their names back on the rolls through Form 6 applications.
Basu has argued that losing a place on the voter list does not take away a person’s citizenship. He has also raised the worry that people left off the rolls could lose access to government welfare schemes. The Opposition has particularly highlighted the backlog of nearly 3.7 million appeals before SIR tribunals and is demanding accountability along with faster resolution.
BJP Opposes Delay in Civic Elections
The BJP has rejected the Opposition’s call to postpone the civic polls and is continuing with its election preparations. With both sides taking sharply different positions on the revision exercise, SIR has turned into a significant political issue ahead of the local body elections. The coming weeks are likely to see intensified campaigns. The BJP will try to defend the exercise, while the Opposition focuses on alleged voter exclusion and the protection of electoral rights.