Fertile fathers or phantom voters? Why SIR puzzle matters in Bengal

Judging from reactions outside West Bengal, the endorsements of

Mamata Banerjee

’s flamboyance in the Supreme Court last week owed more to the dislike of Prime Minister Modi than the merits of the case.

Apart from establishing a precedent of a sitting chief minister personally arguing her case before the highest court, there is yet nothing to suggest that Mamata’s demand for scrapping the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bengal’s electoral rolls has made any meaningful progress.
However, what raised her standing among the orphaned supporters of the now-fractured INDIA grouping was her readiness to take her fight to levels that others would shy away from.

Mamata has elevated her forthcoming electoral battle to a national issue—at least among those who view Bengal from a safe distance.