Upon reaching Kolkata following a visit to the flood-hit North Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing him of overstepping his authority and “behaving like the acting prime minister”.

In a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Banerjee also advised him not to bestow his faith in Shah and claimed the Union Home Minister will turn into Mir Jafar (traitor) one day.

“This is all Amit Shah’s game…(Prime Minister Narendra Modi) knows everything, but I must say — don’t trust Amit Shah so much. Ek din woh aapka Mir Jafar ban jaayega (One day he will become your Mir Jafar),” Banerjee told media persons at the Kolkata airport.

“The (Election) Commission says SIR (Special Intensive Revision of the voters’ list) has to be done within 15 days. Are they going as per the BJP’s instruction? Everything is being done under the direction of Amit Shah, like an acting Prime Minister,” CM Banerjee claimed.

Mamata Banerjee’s remark followed a review meeting conducted by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti on Wednesday, where he took stock of West Bengal’s preparedness for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls with officials from various district administrations.

Speaking about the alleged attack on Trinamool Congress’s party office in Agartala, Banerjee hit out at the BJP-led Tripura government, claiming that the six-member TMC delegation, which reached Agartala on Wednesday was being stopped from leaving the airport.

The TMC delegation travelled to Agartala to assess the situation after the party’s state office was allegedly ransacked on Tuesday.

“Police are not allowing them to even take pre-paid taxis. I told them to go on foot. If that too is not allowed, then I will go there myself. Then we will see how much power they have,” she said.

“In our delegation, there is an SC (Scheduled Caste) MP and an ST (Scheduled Tribe) minister, yet they are not being allowed to step out of the airport,” Banerjee further alleged.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev termed the attack “shocking” and said it took the party two years to set up an office in Agartala when she was in charge ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls.

The TMC team is expected to meet Tripura Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu and Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Dhyankar to apprise them of the situation, Dev added.

While commenting on the recent assault on BJP MP Khagen Murmu in Nagrakata, Jalpaiguri, where he and BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh were attacked while visiting flood-affected areas, Mamata Banerjee said, “The incident happened because their (BJP) public representatives never go to their constituencies. People are angry. After floods and riots, people are usually angry after having lost everything. We are now seeing an outburst among them.”

“They (Murmu and Ghosh) had gone to those (the affected) villages with a convoy of thirty to forty cars. Naturally, people became angry. I never visit any area with more than three cars. They should know how to handle such situations,” she added.

The BJP, however, has accused the TMC of orchestrating the attack.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Election Commissioner said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) will initiate SIR in West Bengal once adequate infrastructure is in place, as informed to the District Magistrates.

While speaking to District Magistrates, Bharti sought updates on the recruitment of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and the submission of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) by various political parties.

Speculation arose following Bharti’s visit to West Bengal, suggesting the SIR could be announced in the state during the second week of October. According to Election Commission sources, Bharti was accompanied by the Commission’s IT-specialist Seema Khanna, and together they are evaluating Bengal’s preparedness for SIR.

The ECI had published the voter list from 2002, the last time SIR was conducted in the state.

Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Manoj Agarwal, expressed confidence stating, “We are ready for SIR.”

The ECI sources indicate that BLO recruitment is nearing completion and most political parties have submitted their BLA names.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal has proactively advanced preparations for electoral revision, dispatching letters to all District Electoral Officers (DEOs) to ensure readiness and requesting the state’s Chief Secretary to promptly fill vacant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) positions in late August, thereby facilitating the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) swift initiation of electoral revision upon announcement.

In August, the Chief Electoral Officer sent directives to all District Electoral Officers for preparedness and to the state’s Chief Secretary to fill vacant ERO and AERO posts promptly. An all-party meeting was also convened by the CEO on August 29. “We don’t know whether it would be called as SIR (Special Intensive Revision) or not, but like other years the revision will be held. So, we are preparing for all situations. We are trying to complete our preparations,” a senior official of ECI said.

A senior ECI official noted, “We are preparing for all situations, aiming to complete our preparations.” The CEO has stressed that AEROs/EROs must not delegate statutory duties and safeguard ERO Net login credentials. With BLO posts filled by the state government pre-Durga Puja, the ECI is set to review BLO lists and party proposals, potentially leading to an SIR announcement in Bengal soon. Officials speculate on the possibility of elections following the electoral revision, akin to Bihar’s process.