Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to halt the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, asserting that continuing the “unplanned and coercive drive” would not only endanger more lives but also jeopardise the legitimacy of the exercise.
Banerjee’s three-page letter came against the backdrop of two deaths of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the state after the exercise was launched on November 4. A third BLO was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday after a cerebral attack, or stroke.
“We will examine the concerns flagged by the chief minister closely and issue a due response,” a senior Election Commission of India (ECI) official in Delhi said.
The chief minister said in the letter, “I would request you to kindly intervene decisively to halt the ongoing exercise, stop coercive measures, provide proper training and support and thoroughly reassess the present methodology and timelines. If the path is not corrected without delay, the consequences for the system, the officials and the citizens will be irreversible. This intervention is not only necessary by imperative to protect the integrity of the electoral process and our democratic framework.”
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“The manner in which this exercise is being forced upon officials and citizens is not only unplanned and chaotic, but also dangerous. The absence of even basic preparedness, adequate planning or clear communication has crippled the process from day one,” CM Banerjee wrote.
She said that BLOs have not been imparted adequate training, support and time for undertaking this mammoth exercise and that they were operating beyond human limits. “Instead of offering support, extending timelines or addressing systemic flaws, the office of the CEO in West Bengal has resorted to intimidation. Show-cause notices are being issued without justification,” she added.
The BJP too sent a letter to the chief electoral officer of West Bengal alleging that the BLOs were being pressurised by some district magistrates, who double up as district electoral officers, to share their personal OTPs for login into the BLO app.
“This is completely illegal, violates ECI norms and directly compromises the security and integrity of voter data. BLO OTP is strictly for individual authentication and cannot be demanded or used by any other authority. BLOs are working under fear and coercion and this malpractice is spreading rapidly,” the letter signed by senior BJP leader Shishir Bajoria said.
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“Mamata Banerjee will continue to complain and dramatise the SIR process because she knows the noose is tightening and she risks being routed in 2026. Her political survival depends on shielding a voter base created through fraudulent and illegal means. In 2026, West Bengal will elect a Chief Minister for the state, not someone who behaves as though she is the provincial leader of East Pakistan,” head of the BJP’s IT wing Amit Malviya wrote on X.
December 4 is the deadline for the SIR enumeration process announced on October 27 for nine states and three Union territories. The first draft electoral roll is due to be published on December 9. Assembly polls in West Bengal are expected to be held in March-April 2026.
