BJP vs Trinamool Escalates Over Voter List Revision, Memo To Poll Body

The Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal has sparked a fierce political clash, with the BJP and the state's ruling Trinamool Congress accusing each other of voter manipulation.

The confrontation has escalated after a BJP delegation met Election Commission officials in Delhi and submitted a detailed memorandum, raising concerns over what it called "widespread misuse of documentation mechanisms" in the state.

Read: Ahead Of Bengal Voter Roll Revision, BJP Red Flags Birth Certificates, 4 Other Documents

Trinamool Alleges 'Silent, Invisible Rigging'

The Trinamool National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee led the party's charge, declaring that SIR will be opposed "both on the streets and in Delhi". 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he said, will lead a "historic" rally on Tuesday, and urged citizens to join the protest.

Banerjee alleged that the SIR had triggered panic in the state, claiming that six people have died by suicide since the revision was announced, and another individual from Dinhata was hospitalised.
He dismissed the process as a "BJP ploy to select voters".

As example, he cited one Sonali Khatun who was "pushed to Bangladesh" even though her parents' names appear in the 2002 SIR list. "Another, Sweety Khatun - her parents are on the draft roll but have been tagged as Bangladeshis," he said.

Challenging the BJP's stance on citizenship, Banerjee said, "Yesterday Amit Shah said those not born in India cannot cast their vote. Then how has LK Advani voted here?"

The Trinamool has also mobilised Booth Level Agents to "shadow" Booth Level Officers and set up "war rooms" involving MPs and MLAs to assist voters.

BJP Counter: 'Illegal Infiltrators, Forged Documents'

The BJP has dismissed the Trinamool's allegations as baseless. Party leader and West Bengal election co-incharge Biplab Deb told NDTV after meeting the Election Commission officials that the Trinamool was "linking anyone who dies in hospital due to any illness to the SIR".

Amit Malviya, BJP's co-incharge for West Bengal, accused the Mamata Banerjee administration of "issuing illegal documents to infiltrators", saying the Trinamool was "shaken by the announcement of SIR".

"We have seen how the Trinamool is afraid because of the illegal documents they have issued to illegal infiltrators. BLOs are demanding security, which itself shows the scale of manipulation," he said.

Malviya also stressed that the Election Commission had assured the party that "each and every document will be verified thoroughly".

BJP's Recommendations to the Election Commission

The BJP delegation comprising Samik Bhattacharya, Amit Malviya and Biplab Deb have urged the Commission to treat West Bengal as a "special case" due to "large-scale issuance of backdated and forged documents", allegedly facilitated through state schemes such as Duare Sarkar.

The party also made a series of specific recommendations for document scrutiny:

• Birth Certificates: Not to be accepted if issued after June 24, 2025, citing a "surge in delayed and backdated registrations".
• Permanent Residence Certificates: To be accepted only if issued and signed by Group-A officers, and cross-verified with the issuing authority.
• Forest Rights Certificates: Only those issued before April 2, 2025, should be considered valid, due to alleged irregularities in appointments of officials.
• OBC-A Caste Certificates: Those issued between 2011 and 2024 be excluded, it said, arguing that many were issued to "illegal infiltrators".
• Family Registers: Registers prepared after June 24, 2025, and those under MGNREGA should not be accepted, citing reliability concerns.

The party also suggested that Land Khatians (Records of Rights) registered before the first Duare Sarkar camp in 2020 and PROFLAL registrations made prior to the last SIR be treated as valid supporting documents.