People of West Bengal want SIR, says State BJP chief

The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (August 17, 2025) said the people of the State want Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on the lines of the exercise being carried out in neighbouring Bihar.

The remark by the State BJP leadership came after Chief Election Commissioner Gynaesh Kumar said on Sunday (August 17, 2025) that three Election Commissioners would decide when the SIR exercise would be carried out in West Bengal and other States.

“People of West Bengal want SIR. If someone is scared, then it is their problem. People of West Bengal do not want West Bangladesh and another August 16 (Direct Action Day),” State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Sunday (August 17, 2025).

The West Bengal BJP leadership, including Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, has been demanding SIR in the State for the past few months. Mr. Adhikari has claimed that four categories of voters, including dead voters and voters who are residents of Bangladesh, will be removed from the voter list.

The Trinamool Congress leadership has said it will oppose any SIR tooth and nail. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has a few days ago spoken against selective SIR in certain States like West Bengal and called for dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

“The EC has stated that the voter lists across various States on the basis of which the general elections were held barely a year ago in 2024 are faulty and riddled with irregularities. If that is indeed the case, and if the Government of Inidia agrees with the EC’s assessment, then the first step towards conducting a genuine SIR and standing on moral high ground is the immediate dissolution of the Lok Sabha,” Mr. Banerjee posted on social media on August 13.

Recently, the release of the 2002 SIR data for West Bengal has caused a stir in the State. Elections in West Bengal are scheduled in 2026.