Bengal Opposition lags behind TMC in booth-level preparedness for SIR

As the Election Commission (EC) gears up to launch the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, political parties find themselves in a race to strengthen their booth-level presence, a task that has once again exposed the organisational weaknesses of the opposition.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal confirmed that the “mapping and uploading” of electoral roll data linked to the 2002 SIR is already completed in Jhargram and West Midnapore districts, while it is expected to be completed by the 15th of this month in the other districts.

BLAs, the first line of defence

Under the SIR mechanism, parties are required to appoint two categories of booth-level agents — BLA 1 and BLA 2.

A BLA 1 is an authorised representative of a political party at the constituency level. These representatives are appointed by the party high command or the district units.

Also read: EC may kick off Bengal SIR from November first week

The BLA 1, in turn, appoints the BLA 2, who is directly responsible for monitoring activities at individual polling booths, ensuring eligible voters are included, wrongful deletions are flagged, and any irregularities in the draft roll are reported to the EC.

These grassroots-level soldiers of political parties serve as the first line of defence in the electoral process.

They not only keep vigil during the revision of electoral rolls and polling day activities but also acts as the vital link between the party and the voters, ensuring that the party’s poll messages reach every household and that voters are mobilised effectively.

Promise of greater transparency

In West Bengal, opposition parties frequently allege that musclemen affiliated with the ruling party forcefully prevent their BLAs from entering polling booths or performing their duties, effectively undermining free and fair elections.

The ruling party, for its part, dismisses these allegations, asserting that opposition parties fail to appoint BLAs in most booths due to their weak grassroots presence.

The forthcoming assembly elections promise to bring greater transparency to these claims and counterclaims, with the EC deciding to officially publish, for the first time, data showing how many booths each party is able to cover through these agents, turning it into a true test of organisational strength.

Also read: Why no SIR in Maharashtra? Opposition leaders ask top poll officials

TMC ahead in ground mobilisation

The ruling TMC, despite its vocal criticism of the SIR process, appears to be ahead in mobilisation on the ground, already preparing lists of BLAs across the state to ensure its control over the voter roll revision process.

“We have already made significant progress in appointing BLAs across the state, particularly through our digital initiative,” said TMC leader Mukul Bairagya.

This app-based digital initiative called Didir Doot (Didi’s Messengers) 2.0 aims to enhance voter list verification by assigning BLA-2 agents to each polling booth. The app also has interactive features, allowing agents to report issues and share updates for better transparency and accountability.

These agents are tasked with identifying and updating voter information in their designated booths, utilizing geo-tagged updates and real-time data collection. Training sessions for these agents were concluded even before the EC officially announced the SIR rollout.

At the district level, the TMC has appointed BLA-1 agents to oversee the process, ensuring comprehensive coverage and monitoring.

Also read: EC plans pan-India voter list revision, starting with 2026 poll states

BJP’s limited reach

Even as the TMC strides ahead, the state’s main opposition party, the BJP, is uncertain about appointing BLA-2 agents across all polling booths in the state.

The party recently held a district-level training session to prepare its cadre for the upcoming SIR process.

However, according to party insiders, the event exposed the party’s limited reach in several areas, particularly in minority-dominated and politically sensitive booths. Several booth- and mandal-level leaders reportedly expressed concern over the lack of dedicated workers to take on BLA responsibilities, with many volunteers later withdrawing.

With the number of polling booths expected to rise to around 95,000 following the revised cap of 1,200 voters per booth, the challenge for the BJP has only deepened.

Despite public assurances from senior leaders about full participation in the process, the party’s booth-level infrastructure remains inadequate.

The Booth Sashaktikaran Abhiyaan, launched to strengthen grassroots engagement, failed to generate significant momentum, party sources said.

Also read: Bengal government will not tolerate threats from EC officials, warns Mamata

Opposition parties lag behind

As a result, the party has scaled down its ambitions, aiming to deploy BLAs in only about 70 per cent of booths, while relying on a combination of manual supervision and digital tracking to manage the remaining coverage gaps, several BJP leaders admit in private.

CPI(M) sources acknowledge that the party’s reach could be limited to 50 per cent of booths statewide, although it claims stronger penetration of up to 75 per cent in certain districts.

The Congress, too, is reportedly struggling to finalise its BLA-2 appointments and may not manage to cover even 40 per cent of booths, with party leaders still awaiting full reports from district units.

A workshop was conducted by the party last week at the Moulali Youth Centre in Kolkata to discuss its strategy pertaining to BLA appointments. During the session, district presidents were instructed to submit the list of BLAs from their respective districts to the leadership by October 15.

Also read: Bihar SIR: SC directs EC to furnish details of 3.66 lakh excluded voters

A senior state Congress leader acknowledged the party’s grassroots organisational weaknesses and said it will concentrate on bolstering its presence in Murshidabad, Malda, and North Dinajpur, where it still maintains significant strength.

Without strong BLA networks, the ability of opposition parties to safeguard their voter base or challenge administrative actions during the roll revision will remain severely limited, leaving them once again on the back foot in the critical run-up to the polls due early next year.