SIR in Bengal: TMC warns of legal action, protests if genuine voters deleted; calls it 'silent invisible rigging'

NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) issued a warning against alleged irregularities in the ongoing revision of West Bengal’s electoral rolls, vowing legal action and a mass movement if names of genuine voters are found deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

At a closed-door virtual meeting attended by nearly 15,000 party functionaries, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP of using the voter list revision to “silently rig” the upcoming elections.

“As you all know, the SIR was announced on October 27 in Bengal on BJP's instructions. After the voter rolls revision was announced in Bihar, we had said it stands for Silent Invisible Rigging. The TMC has protested in Parliament, in court, and on streets and we will continue to do so,” said Banerjee, as quoted by PTI.

He alleged that the SIR, announced Monday, was being carried out at the behest of the BJP to manipulate the voter list ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. “If the name of a single eligible voter is eliminated from the voter list, then one lakh people from Bengal will hold dharna outside the EC office in New Delhi,” he warned earlier this week.

Banerjee also claimed that an “environment of fear” had been created across the state due to the revision process, which involves door-to-door verification and revalidation of voter names.

TMC sources said Banerjee directed all party leaders to stay alert, claiming that “thousands of genuine voters' names” were already found missing in several areas, particularly in North 24 Parganas, Nadia and Cooch Behar districts. He also raised concerns over recent deaths allegedly linked to panic over voter list exclusions.

To assist citizens during the process, Banerjee announced the setting up of anchal-wise help desks across the state from November 4 to December 4. These desks will help people verify their voter details, submit claims and objections, and report irregularities. “TMC will stand beside every eligible voter whose name has been unfairly deleted or withheld,” he asserted, urging district and block-level teams to remain proactive and report any case of voter suppression to the state leadership.

The TMC has been strongly opposing the Election Commission’s SIR process in Bengal, alleging that it is being misused under political pressure to exclude specific communities and opposition supporters. While the BJP has dismissed these charges as “baseless and politically motivated,” the TMC has described the revision as “a larger plot to disenfranchise minorities, Matuas, and poor voters.”