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The ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 assembly polls has exploded into a full-scale political confrontation in West Bengal, pitting chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) against the BJP. The two parties are locked in a bitter clash, trading accusations of electoral manipulation and communal politics. Mamata’s Allegation: EC Working for BJP Leading a massive anti-SIR rally in Kolkata on Tuesday, CM Mamata Banerjee asserted that the fall of the BJP-led government at the Centre would be inevitable if “even a single eligible voter was omitted” from the rolls. She directly accused the Election Commission (EC) of being a political tool for the BJP, alleging that the revision drive was being conducted selectively and with malicious intent. The TMC chief’s central charge is one of “clear discrimination”. She demanded the EC explain why the intensive revision drive is being implemented in opposition-ruled states like West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, yet is allegedly being skipped in BJP-ruled states such as Assam and Tripura—all of which face elections next year. She linked the SIR to the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC), suggesting it was a deliberate attempt to intimidate and disenfranchise legitimate voters. Challenging the BJP’s narrative of “illegal voters” in West Bengal, CM Mamata scornfully asked, “How many Rohingyas or Bangladeshis were found in Bihar after the SIR there?” BJP’s Counter-Attack: Fraud and Appeasement The BJP launched a scathing counter-offensive, focusing on alleged electoral fraud by the TMC and accusing the chief minister of communal appeasement. Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari met with the chief electoral officer (CEO) and submitted a formal complaint, alleging that the TMC and associated agencies, including I-PAC, were attempting to manipulate the voter list by including the names of deceased persons using fake documents. Adhikari claimed, “There is a deliberate effort to make dead voters appear alive,” and submitted what the party alleged was a “fake birth certificate” as evidence. Adhikari then launched a personal attack on the chief minister, calling the protest rally a “Jamaat” programme led by “Khala” Mamata Banerjee, an accusation frequently used by the BJP to allege that the TMC is working solely to protect “Bangladeshi Muslims”. Echoing this sentiment, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya took to X, stating, “Today, Mamata Banerjee crossed the line with an extremely offensive remark while defending illegal Bangladeshi Muslims.” Malviya accused her of insulting Hindu deities and using such remarks “deliberately and cunningly every time to consolidate her only vote bank.” He then called upon “Bengali Hindu devotees” to rise and defeat the chief minister. Actor-turned-BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty also weighed in from Balurghat, questioning the TMC’s motives: “Whom is Mamata Banerjee really protesting for? The Election Commission has never said that Hindus will be expelled, nor that Indian Muslims will be driven out. She is doing all this only for political gain.” The battle over the electoral rolls has thus transformed from an administrative issue into a high-stakes political and cultural confrontation, effectively marking the unofficial beginning of the campaign for the 2026 Bengal assembly elections.
