As the voter list revision is underway in West Bengal, a political storm erupted between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari visited the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata on Tuesday and lodged a formal complaint, alleging that attempts were being made to include the names of deceased persons in the voter list using fake documents.
“There is a deliberate effort to make dead voters appear alive. I-PAC is cheating by producing fake birth certificates,” Adhikari claimed after his meeting. He added that the BJP had submitted one such “fake” birth certificate as evidence to the Election Commission.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll has begun in full swing across West Bengal, with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) going door to door since Tuesday morning to verify and update voter details. Along with filling enumeration forms, BLOs have been tasked with several additional verification duties.
Meanwhile, the TMC took to the streets on Tuesday, staging a massive rally in protest against the SIR process. The march was led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The procession began from the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar on Red Road in central Kolkata and moved through Rani Rashmoni Road, passing the KC Das intersection before heading towards Jorasanko Thakurbari in the northern part of the state capital.
Adhikari launched a sharp attack on the ruling party, calling the rally “anti-constitutional.” He remarked, “Those who are Indians cannot take out this procession. This is a procession of jihadis. Those who are challenging the constitutional body, those who insult the Chief Election Commissioner’s father, and those who threaten and abuse CEO Manoj Agarwal are the ones marching before Ambedkar’s statue.”
In a fiery statement, the BJP leader accused the TMC of undermining democratic institutions and alleged that “Bangladeshi infiltrators have joined the procession in large numbers.” He also claimed that the rally defied constitutional principles and insulted the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar and Rabindranath Tagore.
According to TMC insiders, the party had initially planned a large public meeting at Shaheed Minar on November 2 under the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee, but the event was postponed due to logistical issues. However, the leadership decided not to let the day marking the beginning of SIR go unobserved, choosing instead to hold Tuesday’s protest march.
As both political sides trade sharp allegations, the Election Commission’s inspection team is expected to visit the state from November 5 to 8 to review the progress of the SIR process and the functioning of BLOs on the ground. The confrontation between the TMC and BJP adds a fresh layer of tension to what is meant to be an administrative exercise ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
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