TMC flags ‘discriminatory’ SIR process in Bengal

KOLKATA: A five-member Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation on Saturday met the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer and submitted a deputation raising urgent concerns over what it described as discriminatory and arbitrary conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The Election Commission has earmarked around 1.36 lakh voters as “logical discrepancy” cases involving mapped electors with proven links to the 2002 electoral roll. TMC MP Mahua Moitra said electors were being called for hearings over minor inconsistencies such as “Kumar” in 2002 appearing as “Kr” in 2025, or “Shaik” becoming “sk”, largely due to faulty conversion of the 2002 Bengali rolls into English. She also claimed that despite successful legacy mapping, electors were being asked to produce one of 13 documents listed in the SIR notification, even though no Commission guideline mandates this, adding that unlike other states where such cases are resolved at the ERO or AERO level, West Bengal follows a restrictive and centralised procedure.

TMC MLA Chandrima Bhattacharya alleged that the Commission was offering no proof of accepting documents submitted by electors during hearings, calling it a violation of the principles of natural justice. TMC leader Firhad Hakim said the rising number of logical discrepancy cases, running into lakhs across districts and disproportionately affecting minority communities, has made it practically impossible for EROs and AEROs to complete hearings within the stipulated time, exposing voters to the risk of deletion due to administrative incapacity. The delegation, which also included TMC leaders Partha Bhowmick and Baiswanor Chatterjee, warned that if these issues are not addressed urgently, they could lead to large-scale deletion of eligible voters, undermining free, fair and inclusive elections.