TMC delegation meets ECI, suggests treating 2024 as base year for special revision of rolls

PTI, NEW DELHI, JULY 1, 2025: A five-member delegation of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) on Tuesday met the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and suggested that 2024 should be used as the base year for the electoral roll's Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which is set to be carried out in West Bengal ahead of next year's Assembly polls.

In a post on X, the ECI said they met the AITC delegation as a part of their outreach with political parties and received their suggestions. Since May 2025, the ECI has met five of the six national parties so far, with the Congress being the only one left. The AITC is the first state party they met as part of the poll panel's outreach to political parties being held after new Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took charge.

In the meeting with the ECI, the AITC leaders raised issues, including duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) cards and SIR of electoral rolls, among others. Talking to reporters after the meeting, AITC MP Kalyan Banerjee said they highlighted several points, including SIR. "The ECI stated that their motive (behind SIR) is that no voter should be left behind. But based on some recent circulars, the approach seems to be eligibility first and inclusion later," Banerjee said.

The AITC leaders suggested that 2024 should be the base year for SIR. "Regarding the revision roll, we pointed out that although you are talking about revision, it is creating confusion. Under the statute, the revision roll should be based on 2024, that is the base level. This means that voters enrolled till 2024 should remain irrespective of any condition," the MP said.

Banerjee added that the poll panel took note of it and said they would consider it. The MP said they highlighted that the main concern is the requirement for 'birth certificates', to which the EC said those who are voters will remain voters. "They said those who already are voters will remain voters. If any inclusion is made after this, it will be based on evidence," he said.

The AITC leaders also raised concerns over the alleged addition of a large number of voters ahead of polls and gave the examples of Haryana and Delhi. They also suggested that only new voters between 18 and 21 years of age should be added ahead of the polls. "But how can people aged 50-60 suddenly be part of the bulk voter list and how can the number of new inclusions rise to 40,000," Banerjee said.

The AITC leaders also raised the issue of voter turnout data being released late. West Bengal MLA and state minister Firhad Hakim said they also raised the issue of central forces entering booths and influencing voters in some places. "We proposed to them that if central forces are there, state police should also be there inside the booth. No forces should enter the area where polling is done inside the booths," said Hakim.

"Our Chairperson Mamata Banerjee respects two things in democracy — the EC and the Supreme Court... We believe that EC will remain unbiased," he added.

The delegation included AITC MLA and minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and Aroop Biswas, and Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik besides Hakim and Banerjee.