Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has written a strongly worded three-page letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, urging the immediate suspension of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in West Bengal, following the deaths of multiple Booth Level Officers (BLOs) allegedly due to excessive workload.
Her letter comes amid a growing political storm over the SIR process, which the state government claims has been imposed abruptly and without planning. According to Mamata, the exercise has become “dangerous” and “structurally unsound,” placing intolerable pressure on officials and ordinary voters.
In her letter, Mamata accused the Election Commission of thrusting the exercise onto officials without basic preparation.
“The situation surrounding the ongoing 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.
She highlighted critical gaps in training, ambiguity over required documents, and the near-impossibility of meeting voters during working hours. These issues, she said, have crippled the process from the very beginning.
The CM linked the deaths of BLOs directly to the pressure created by SIR. She cited the case of an Anganwadi worker from Malbazar, Jalpaiguri, who allegedly died by suicide due to the strain of the work. Others, she said, have suffered severe mental stress or collapsed under the workload.
“Under immense pressure, BLOs are working beyond their capacity. Many have broken down mentally,” Banerjee wrote, warning that continuing the process in its current form could have “irreversible consequences.”
On Thursday, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien publicly released a list of 31 deceased individuals, describing them as victims of “Silent Invisible Rigging (SIR).” The party has opposed the revision exercise even before its full rollout, adding a new layer of tension to the already fraught relationship between the state and the Centre.
Mamata claimed that BLOs are being overloaded with unrealistic deadlines and inconsistent directives. According to her, officials are being pressured despite not receiving proper training or technical support.
She alleged that BLOs are unable to collect and upload data due to unclear instructions, they are being issued show-cause notices for delays or minor mistakes and “Punitive measures and intimidation” have become routine.
This, she argued, has created an atmosphere of fear among grassroots poll workers.
The Chief Minister cautioned that rushing the SIR during a period of high workload for government staff—including the harvest season for farmers—could lead to serious mistakes in the voter list.
“If the electoral roll is flawed, it will be dangerous for the democratic structure,” she warned.
Mamata urged the Election Commission to stop “coercive measures,” provide proper training and support, and reassess the timeline and methodology of the exercise.
“If this path is not corrected without delay, the consequences for the system, the officials, and the citizens will be unbearable,” she wrote, stressing that such a massive task cannot be executed without adequate time and a realistic plan.
She asked the Commission to “take immediate action and re-evaluate the SIR in a peaceful environment,” arguing that the current process jeopardises not only officials and citizens but also the integrity of the electoral system.
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