West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to the Election Commission (EC), calling the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state “deeply alarming" and urging a halt to the exercise.
Banerjee, in her letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, claimed the process is being conducted in an “unplanned and coercive" manner, putting both citizens and officials at risk.
“I am compelled to write to you as the situation surrounding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has reached a deeply alarming stage. The manner in which this exercise is being forced upon officials and citizens is not only unplanned and chaotic, but also dangerous," she wrote.
The West Bengal CM further called the exercise as chaotic, noting critical gaps in training, confusion over mandatory documentation, and the near-impossibility for booth-level officers (BLOs) to meet voters during their working hours.
“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," her letter stated.
Highlighting the human cost, the chief minister cited the suicide of an anganwadi worker in Mal, Jalpaiguri, who was serving as a BLO and reportedly faced “crushing SIR-related pressure". She added that several others have also died since the process began.
“If this 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 but imperative to protect the integrity of the electoral process and our democratic framework," she said.
BJP Hits Back: ‘Signs Of Desperation’
Meanwhile, the BJP hit back at Banerjee’s letter to the EC, calling it a sign that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is worried about losing voter support.
Pradeep Bhandari, the party’s national spokesperson, slammed the Bengal CM in a post on X, saying her letter is nothing short of an admission that “TMC’s top leadership is rattled".
“For years, TMC quietly benefited from illegal infiltration and bogus voters. Now that the voter list is being cleaned through SIR and fake entries are being removed, Mamata is panicking. A nervous, desperate TMC is trying to shield the very ecosystem that kept it in power," Bhandari wrote.
BJP senior leader and IT Cell head Amit Malviya also responded to Banerjee’s appeal to the EC, criticising her move in strong terms. He said Banerjee would continue to “complain and dramatise" the SIR process because she is aware that the pressure is mounting and she faces the risk of a heavy electoral defeat in 2026.
“Her political survival depends on shielding a voter base created through fraudulent and illegal means," Malviya wrote on X.
He further added a sharp critique of her leadership style, saying, “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."
