TMC Prepares for Special Intensive Revision (SIR); Abhishek Banerjee Urges Party Workers to Keep a Constant Watch on BLOs

PTI, Kolkata, Oct 31, 2025 : The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has directed its workers to remain alert and maintain a "constant watch" over booth-level officers (BLOs) during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee emphasized that no BLO should be left "unattended for even a minute."

Addressing a closed-door virtual meeting with nearly 18,000 party functionaries from across the state, Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the SIR process to "silently rig" the upcoming elections. He referred to the next six months as the party's "acid test," claiming that the voter list revision, announced on October 27, was orchestrated by the BJP to manipulate the electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

"The BJP's goal is not to identify infiltrators. If that were true, they would have conducted a similar exercise in Assam, Meghalaya, or Tripura. This is a political operation aimed at deleting genuine voters," Banerjee said, according to party insiders.

Banerjee instructed party workers to maintain constant vigilance and ensure that BLOs were never left unattended. He also directed booth-level agents (BLA-1s) in each district to appoint BLA-2s, who would accompany BLOs during door-to-door verification to ensure transparency. "BLA-2s will act as shadow companions to the BLOs. It must be ensured that no names are unfairly deleted and that all forms are resubmitted by November 3," he added, calling this phase an "acid test" for the party's grassroots organization.

"If even one eligible voter's name is removed, one lakh people from Bengal will hold a dharna outside the Election Commission office in New Delhi," Banerjee warned, reiterating an earlier statement made this week. He emphasized that the party would take both legal and political steps to expose what he called "Silent Invisible Rigging" (SIR).

"As you all know, on BJP's instructions, the Election Commission announced the SIR on October 27 in Bengal. After Bihar's SIR, we said it stands for Silent Invisible Rigging. The Trinamool Congress will fight it in court, in Parliament, and on the streets," Banerjee asserted.

The meeting, which was also addressed by TMC state president Subrata Bakshi, was convened to formulate the party's strategy for the voter list revision and coordinate the campaign across all districts, blocks, and booths. Party insiders noted that the meeting was held behind closed doors to allow candid discussions and planning.

Banerjee announced that, starting November 4, the TMC would set up 6,200 voter assistance camps across 2,861 municipal wards and 3,345 gram panchayats to help people verify their names, submit claims and objections, and report irregularities. "Each camp will be equipped with laptops, printers, and Wi-Fi, operating from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a month. The message must be clear: In people's hour of need, only the Trinamool Congress stands by them," the MP said.

The party's voter outreach will continue in phases until January 31, with MPs and MLAs instructed to set up "war rooms" in each of the 294 Assembly constituencies. Each war room, Banerjee said, would consist of 15 members—10 coordinating with BLA-2s and five handling data entry.

"Any issue must be immediately escalated to the MLA or MP. If there's a serious problem, it should be reported directly to me via WhatsApp," he stated.

Banerjee claimed that discrepancies had already been detected in several districts, particularly in North 24 Parganas, Nadia, and Cooch Behar. "We are comparing online and hard copies of voter lists and will present the evidence before the court," he added, alleging that "thousands of genuine voters' names" had been found missing in some areas. Banerjee further accused the BJP of attempting to divide Bengal through the SIR process and the National Register of Citizens (NRC)