West Bengal Congress submits demands to CEO for modification of SIR process

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A delegation of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) visited the office of the State’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Thursday (October 16, 2025) and submitted a memorandum with demands for modification of the process of the impending Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

The memorandum listed out 16-point demands like the inclusion of electoral rolls since 2002 till that of the Assembly election in 2021 as probative evidence of eligibility and citizenship of a voter if a large population of electors cannot be mapped in the 2002 voters’ list. 

For context, the last SIR of the voters’ list in West Bengal was conducted in 2002, and during the recent SIR in Bihar, the electoral list of its last SIR in 2003 was used as a reference point for the submission of identification documents for the SIR of 2025.

“The convoluted exercise of deleting the names of existing electors for non-submission of enumeration forms within 30 days and then requiring them to fill Form 6 for re-enrollment as a new elector within the next 30 days (claims and objections period), needs to be discontinued. This is a significant flaw in the existing SIR 2025 process,” the WBPCC memorandum also stated as one of its demands.

One of their demands includes the removal of the requirement for identification documents of an elector’s parents that mention their place and date of birth. 

“The Enumeration Form used in Bihar SIR, which mentions this requirement, needs to be changed, especially during the SIR of electoral roll in West Bengal. A large section of the West Bengal population comprises post-partition refugees, whose parents were born in undivided India, and they do not possess such documents,” the memorandum cites.

Notably, on October 10, the WBPCC had constituted a ‘special committee’ tasked with safeguarding the voting rights and citizenship of the people of the State. 

Recently, the SIR in poll-bound Bihar culminated with the publication of the final electoral roll comprising nearly 7.42 crore voters. Prior to the SIR process, the State had 7.89 crore people enrolled as voters as on June 24, 2025.

Delegation member and chairperson of the WBPCC’s special committee on voters’ and citizens’ rights, Prasenjit Bose, told The Hindu that the CEO took note of their demands and assured them of forwarding them to the Election Commission of India headquarters in New Delhi.

“One of our key demands is for an all-party meeting before the SIR process begins in West Bengal. However, the CEO told us to propose that to the ECI at a Central level. We also demanded the formation of an institutionalised complaints registration system and for the removal of election officials who are seen practising partiality during the SIR process,” Mr Bose said. 

BJP, Trinamool lock horns over SIR

On the same day, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Suvendu Adhikari reiterated his claims of “no SIR, no election” and said that if there is no SIR, there wouldn’t be a final electoral list. 

“In that case, there wouldn’t be any election and then, after 12 am on May 4 2026, President’s Rule will be established in the State,” Mr Adhikari said at a party event at flood-affected Nagrakata in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri.

On the other hand, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on Thursday asserted that the party “will not tolerate” the removal of the names of any genuine voter and citizen.

Civil society group alleges threats to BLOs

Meanwhile, representatives of the civil society group Sangrami Joutho Mancha also met with the CEO on Thursday with complaints of threats allegedly being issued to booth-level officers in several districts, amidst reports of an upcoming SIR in the State. It is worth noting that in Bihar, BLOs comprised a large section of the grassroots work force that went door to door to collect and help electors fill up the emuneration form for SIR.

“In several cases, political party workers are asking BLOs who have completed training to consult them on how they should carry out the SIR process on ground. We have also received complaints that BLOs are being threatened with dire consequences if any elector is removed from the list during SIR. We have shared these allegations [to the CEO] and we have pointed out to them certain sensitive areas in the State where it will be difficult for BLOs to work,” convenor of Sangrami Joutha Mancha Bhaskar Ghosh said outside the CEO office.

He added that during their meeting the CEO floated the idea of a help desk with helpline phone numbers and an email address for BLOs to register their complaints.

“We have also demanded the deployment of Central forces for the protection of BLOs in certain sensitive areas. [The CEO] has asked us to regularly notify them of any further complaints when SIR begins,” Mr Ghosh said.