Amid Fears Over Bengal SIR, Mamata Banerjee to Lead Protest in Kolkata on November 4
New Delhi: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will lead a protest march in Kolkata on November 4 against the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's electoral rolls. West Bengal is the second among other states after Bihar where the contentious exercise will be conducted.
The Election Commission of India announced nationwide SIR across 12 states and union territories from October 28. The list includes Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Lakshadweep. The revision is set to cover 51 crore voters.
The move escalates a political firestorm over the month-long verification drive, which the ruling Trinamool Congress has alleged is a BJP-led conspiracy to strike legitimate voters from the lists, drawing parallels to the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The party has filed a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer against BJP's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, accusing him of openly threatening BLOs with imprisonment if they did not comply with his party's instructions.
Also read: A Day After SIR Is Announced in Bengal, Political Uproar Over Elderly Man's Death by Suicide
The BJP has denied the allegations, with party spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya asserting that BLOs work independently. He accused the TMC of trying to prevent the removal of "dead voters" from the electoral rolls.
The escalating tensions come as 80,000 booth level officers, many of them teachers, have expressed fears for their security during the month-long, door-to-door verification process. At a training session on Saturday (November 1), some staged an agitation demanding clarity and safety measures.
Meanwhile, the state's opposition CPI(M) announced it would deploy its own "red volunteers". State secretary Mohammed Salim said these activists would assist electors with paperwork and help party agents during the verification process, effectively creating a third force on the ground.
The SIR exercise is scheduled to run from November 4 to December 4.
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
