Kolkata, 05 January (H.S.) : Political tensions have escalated in West Bengal over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari writing to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, urging that the exercise be allowed to continue without interruption. His letter comes 2 days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded that the process be halted.

In his letter, Adhikari described the chief minister’s appeal as an “admission of defeat,” alleging that the demand to stop the SIR was an attempt to preserve electoral irregularities. He accused the Trinamool Congress of spreading confusion among the public by making what he termed baseless allegations against the Election Commission.

The BJP leader claimed that the people of West Bengal have embraced the SIR process as a “beacon of hope.” He asserted that allegations of fear and harassment were a fabricated narrative promoted by the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Adhikari further stated that more than 50,000 booth-level officers and electoral registration officers across the state have been trained for the SIR exercise. He defended the use of digital platforms for faster coordination, calling it a modern administrative necessity.

In his letter dated Monday, Adhikari alleged that the state administration and Trinamool Congress workers were attempting to intimidate field-level officials and disrupt the process by spreading misinformation. He maintained that keeping booth-level agents away during hearings was essential to ensure fairness and impartiality.

He urged the Election Commission to continue the SIR exercise with public support and without yielding to political pressure.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in her letter dated January 3, had described the Special Intensive Revision as arbitrary and flawed, demanding that it be stopped. She warned that in its current form, the exercise could lead to large-scale disenfranchisement of voters and undermine the foundations of democracy.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh