The Election Commission (EC) has uploaded electoral rolls from its 2002 Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal, triggering speculation that a fresh SIR could be on the horizon ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The move has already stirred political tension in the state, with ruling and opposition parties interpreting the development through contrasting lenses.
So far, PDF voter roll data from 103 of the state’s 294 constituencies—spanning districts like Cooch Behar, Malda, Nadia, Jalpaiguri, and Bankura have been made available on the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s website. The remaining constituencies are expected to follow soon.
The SIR, if conducted, would involve a complete door-to-door enumeration and re-verification process, allowing electoral rolls to be rebuilt from scratch, independent of the current list. Citizens would need to trace their constituency and booth from 2002, particularly those enrolled post-delimitation in 2008, to verify their records ahead of a new voter scrutiny cycle.
Mamata Banerjee Cries Foul, EC Clarifies Training Is Routine
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee voiced strong opposition to the EC’s recent actions, warning that “genuine voters risk being excluded” under what she called a discriminatory process. “We won’t tolerate this in Bengal. The double-engineered government is behind this conspiracy,” she said, referring to the BJP at the Centre and in opposition in the state.
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Banerjee criticised the decision to send around 1,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) from Bengal to New Delhi for EC training without informing the state. “The chief secretary should have been informed. Please inform us. You are making decisions on your own,” she said in an administrative review meeting.
West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal defended the move, stating that BLO training is part of regular EC operations and that the final call on whether a fresh SIR will occur rests solely with the EC. From July 24 to 28, nearly 900 officers were trained in Kolkata and other districts including Malda and Jalpaiguri.
TMC-BJP Sparring Heats Up Over Voter Inclusion In West Bengal
While the TMC fears large-scale voter exclusion, especially of rural, elderly, and migrant populations, the BJP has taken a different stance. Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari welcomed the possibility of a Bihar-style SIR, citing a suspicious rise of 70,000 new voter registrations. He called for rejecting domicile certificates issued after July 25 in the scrutiny process.
TMC MP Sushmita Dev argued that the current exercise verges on citizenship verification an area constitutionally reserved for the Union home ministry. Civil society observers, too, warn that legacy documentation requirements may disenfranchise millions who enrolled after 2002 and struggle to trace old electoral or familial records.
Nonetheless, EC officials maintain that SIR is a constitutional provision routinely used to enhance voter roll integrity. Similar revisions have been carried out across India since the 1950s.
As Bengal prepares for a likely overhaul of its voter registry, the process promises to be a political flashpoint. Whether it ensures electoral transparency or fuels allegations of exclusion will depend on the fairness, clarity, and reach of the revision and how all sides respond in the countdown to 2026.
