West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, urging him to immediately halt the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state and “thoroughly reassess the present methodology and timelines”.
The chief minister’s letter to the CEC comes a day after she had asked the EC to halt the SIR exercise in the wake of the death of two BLOs (Booth Level Officers) in the state, allegedly from “work pressure”.
While praising the work of the BLOs, she accused the office of West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of “resorting to intimidation” of BLOs, and alleged, “…Many BLOs, under extreme pressure and fear of punitive action, are being pushed to submit incorrect or incomplete entries—risking disenfranchisement of genuine voters and eroding the integrity of the electoral roll.”
“Instead of offering support, extending timelines, or addressing systemic flaws… Show-cause notices are being issued without justification. BLOs—already stretched and distressed—are being threatened with severe disciplinary action simply because the Commission refuses to acknowledge the reality on the ground,” she wrote to the CEC.
“Kindly intervene decisively to halt the ongoing exercise, stop coercive measures, provide proper training and support… If this path is not corrected without delay, the consequences—for the system, the officials, and the citizens—will be irreversible,” her letter stated.
Stating that she has been flagging “serious concerns” over the ongoing SIR and the way it has been “thrust upon the people”, the TMC supremo wrote: “Now, I am compelled to write to you as the situation surrounding the ongoing SIR has reached a deeply alarming stage.
The manner in which this exercise is being forced upon officials and citizens is not only unplanned and chaotic, but also dangerous.”
“The absence of even basic preparedness, adequate planning or clear communication has crippled the process from day one. Critical gaps in training, lack of clarity on mandatory documentation, and the near-impossibility of meeting voters in the midst of their livelihood schedules have made the exercise structurally unsound,” she added.
The voter roll revision that earlier took three years, she said, had been “forcibly compressed into three months”, creating “inhuman working conditions” and a climate of “fear and uncertainty”.
Stating that BLOs have “unrealistic workload”, the chief minister said, “BLOs are now operating far beyond human limits. They are expected to manage their principal duties (many being teachers and frontline workers), while simultaneously conducting door-to-door surveys and handling complex e-submissions.
“Most are struggling with online forms due to lack of training, server failures, and repeated data mismatches. At this pace, it is almost certain that by December 4, voter data across multiple constituencies cannot be uploaded, maintaining required accuracy,” she added.
Referring to the suicide by a BLO in Jalpaiguri district and reports of more than a dozen suicides allegedly triggered by “SIR panic”, the chief minister said, “The human cost of this mismanagement is now unbearable. Yesterday, an anganwadi worker serving as a BLO in Mal, Jalpaiguri, died by suicide, reportedly under crushing SIR-related pressure. Several others have lost their lives since this process began.”
The TMC chief and her party leaders have been voicing their opposition to the SIR exercise ahead of the Assembly elections early next year. The party leaders have likened the process to implementing the NRC (National Register of Citizens) in the state through a backdoor, and have warned of protests if names of genuine voters are deleted from the roll.