No eligible voter can be left out: CEO Manoj Kumar Agrawal in Alipurduar
The Statesman | 8 November 2025
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal Manoj Kumar Agrawal on Thursday reiterated that no eligible voter would be left out during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking to reporters in Alipurduar after a detailed review meeting, Mr Agrawal said: “Everybody will be covered. No eligible candidate can be left out. Family members may fill up the enumeration forms, but they must do so through the QR Code system.”
Addressing concerns raised by some booth level officers (BLOs) over the alleged shortage of enumeration forms, the CEO clarified that adequate forms are available for the revision process.
On the recent reports of attacks on booth level agents (BLAs) belonging to the BJP, allegedly by Trinamul Congress (TMC) activists, Mr Agrawal said the District Returning Officer and Assistant Returning Officers have been directed to take up and resolve such cases appropriately.
When asked about reports of suicides allegedly linked to the ongoing revision process, Mr Agrawal dismissed any panic, saying there was “no cause for alarm” related to the SIR.
A high-level team from the Election Commission of India (ECI), led by Gyanesh Bharti, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, held a review meeting on the SIR with senior officials, including District Magistrate and District Election Officer R Vimala. The meeting, attended by CEO Manoj Kumar Agrawal, took place at Dooars Kanya, the administrative headquarters in Alipurduar.
The ECI team, which arrived in Alipurduar late Wednesday night, held the review for over two hours before leaving for Cooch Behar to conduct a similar exercise. The revision process in Cooch Behar is being carried out amid rising political tension between the TMC and the BJP.
Later, the ECI delegation held another review session with district election officials at Utsav Auditorium, the district headquarters of Cooch Behar.
Meanwhile, political tensions escalated further following an alleged attack on a BJP booth-level agent in Mathabhanga.
According to reports, Bibhas Das, a BJP booth level agent (BLA), was attacked while visiting households with a government booth level officer (BLO) as part of the SIR activities.
The incident occurred at Booth No. 239, under Pachagarh Gram Panchayat in Mathabhanga Block-I. It has been alleged that Das was beaten, forced to wear a garland of shoes, and paraded through the Chatkhaterbari area by suspected TMC supporters.
The BJP has accused the ruling party of orchestrating the assault, which has sparked sharp political reactions in the district.
In another development, Darjeeling district CPI-M leaders submitted a complaint to the Siliguri SDO alleging irregularities in the revision process. District secretary Saman Pathak said: “BLOs have not yet held meetings with BLAs to begin the SIR in Siliguri. We have seen BLOs working alone without involving BLAs of other political parties. Moreover, representatives of the ruling party are influencing BLOs in their respective areas.”
The CPI-M delegation demanded that false voters be deleted from the rolls and objected strongly to the alleged retention of fake names.