SIR in Bengal: Voters’ names removed before start of process, alleges TMC

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday (October 30) raised serious allegations of manipulation in West Bengal’s voter list, claiming that several voters’ names were removed even before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process started on the ground.

TMC spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya at a press conference in Kolkata alleged that discrepancies were found between the hard copy of the 2002 voter list, published after then SIR exercise, and the soft copy of the same published on the Election Commission’s (EC) website.

Also read: SIR in Bengal: EC faces challenges; TMC, Cong question poll panel at all-party meeting

According to TMC, many voters whose names were included in the 2002 lists are now missing from the digital version.

TMC MLA Narayan Goswami has already filed a complaint with the EC citing such alleged discrepancies in his Ashoknagar constituency in North 24 Parganas district.

‘Silent Invisible Rigging’

In his constituency, booth 61, the names of voters numbered 343 to 414 are allegedly missing.

Ghosh described the alleged deletions as “Silent Invisible Rigging”, accusing the BJP-led Central government of attempting to intimidate voters through the SIR, with the EC allegedly acting under pressure.

Ghosh cited multiple examples to highlight the scale of the alleged manipulation.

In booth number 2 of Natabari, Cooch Behar (now part of booth 303), the 2002 list had 717 voters. The hard copy still contains all names, but the EC’s website shows only 140.

Also read: TMC warns EC against any attempt to ‘manipulate’ voter lists during SIR

Similarly, in booth 60 of Mathabhanga, 846 names from 2002 are now reduced to 416 in the digital list.

“These are not random omissions,” Ghosh said. “People cannot simply disappear from the rolls. Names are being deliberately removed before SIR even begins. Complaints have come from multiple areas, and the BJP appears to be behind this manipulation, with the Election Commission merely uploading the altered lists.”

TMC demands probe

Bhattacharya accused the BJP of trying to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

“The BJP could not achieve anything in the 2021 Assembly elections or the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal. Now, they are trying to manipulate the voter list to influence the next polls,” she said.

“Not a single legitimate voter’s name should be removed,” Ghosh warned. “We have already filed complaints, and every booth and household must be checked against the old lists. Names are being deleted deliberately, block by block, before the SIR even starts.”

Bhattacharya claimed that even BJP’s own supporters’ names have been inadvertently removed, causing internal confusion.

She demanded a thorough investigation, calling the EC’s explanation that its website crashed “unsatisfactory”.

The EC is yet to respond to the TMC’s allegations.