Failed attempt by CM to stall SIR, says Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya
Telegraph | 5 February 2026
Bengal BJP leaders on Wednesday dismissed chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s three-day-long legal and political offensive in New Delhi against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a failed bid to derail the process and warned that any delay in the Assembly polls beyond May 5 would automatically lead to the President’s Rule in the state.
Reacting to Mamata’s appearance in the Supreme Court and her protest in the national capital, Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said the chief minister’s efforts amounted to “political theatrics” aimed at disrupting a legally mandated exercise.
“The people of West Bengal are well aware of Mamata Banerjee’s political drama and clearly understand her desperation to stall the SIR process,” Bhattacharya told journalists in Delhi.
He said the SIR exercise would continue regardless of protests or litigation. “Mamata Banerjee may go to Mars or Antarctica, but the SIR process will go on. The clear message from the people of West Bengal is: No SIR, No Vote. People have made up their mind,” the Rajya Sabha member said, adding that her electoral defeat was “inevitable”.
Bhattacharya accused the chief minister of fearing the deletion of the names of fake voters and Bangladeshis and duplicate entries from the electoral rolls, and asked why Bengal alone was witnessing unrest when the SIR was being conducted in 12 states. “Why is there chaos only in West Bengal? The answer is obvious: fear of the truth coming out.”
Calling her stance contradictory, Bhattacharya recalled Mamata’s position in August 2005, when she had demanded a “purification” of the voters’ list, claiming it was riddled with the names of Bangladeshi infiltrators.
“Today, the same Mamata Banerjee has reached Delhi to stage a protest against the SIR. This is a glaring example of political hypocrisy and double standards,” the MP said, alleging that she now wanted elections to be held based on the 2024 electoral roll so that the names of “Bangladeshi Muslims and Rohingya” could remain on the list.
He alleged that booth-level officers (BLOs) were being threatened, the Election Commission (EC) was being targeted, and the SIR process was deliberately stalled.
Bhattacharya also criticised Mamata for choosing to protest in Delhi, instead of visiting the site of a devastating warehouse fire at Anandpur in Calcutta. He accused the Trinamool Congress government of denying land to the BSF in border areas with the intention of weakening border security.
Union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar, a former state BJP president, accused the chief minister of indulging in political drama and failing to place any concrete facts before the Supreme Court.
“She delivered only an inflammatory and political speech,” Majumdar said, alongside Bhattacharya, questioning her claim of 145 SIR-related deaths.
“Despite repeated advice from the EC, no district administration in Bengal has provided any list of such deceased persons,” he added.
“Detain, delete and deport — this is the path to electoral integrity and national interest. The people of West Bengal have rejected the theatrics of the Trinamool Congress. The SIR will take place, and the defeat of the Trinamool Congress is certain,” Majumdar said.
In Calcutta, the leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said the chief minister was pushing a “fake narrative” to obstruct the SIR. “She claimed big things would emerge from court, but the people of Bengal witnessed her desperation to stall the SIR. Her Delhi mission has failed, and she has returned empty-handed,” Adhikari said.
Adhikari claimed that the chief minister had three objectives — to disrupt theSIR, remove micro-observers and push to accept Aadhaar while insisting that elections be based on the 2024 voters’ list. “But she failed on all counts,” said the Nandigram MLA.
Adhikari alleged that the EC was compelled to appoint micro-observers in Bengal because the state government failed to appoint electoral registration officers (EROs) from among IAS cadres and directly recruited Group A WBCS officers, as mandated.
“Out of 295 EROs, appointments of 225 violated EC rules,” he alleged.
“She (Mamata) even urged the court to allow Aadhaar, but the Supreme Court has reserved its decision. Her over-alertness shows she knows she will lose theelection and is desperately clinging to the 2024 voters’list, which is filled with the names of Bangladeshi Muslims, Rohingya and fake voters,” Adhikari said, claiming that BLOs, who are stategovernment employees, had already deleted 58 lakhnames, while “hardly a thousand” applications had been filed through Form 6 for inclusion.
On the possibility of election delays because of the chief minister’s legal battle, Adhikari said: “It is a matter of constitutional provisions. We are bound by the Constitution. To conduct elections, a clear voters’ list is mandatory. Without it, no voting can be held. If an elected government fails to assume power by May 5, President’s Rule will automatically be imposed in the state,” he said.
The CPM accused Mamata of wasting time and staging protests to mislead people.
Senior CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty questioned the timing of her protest.
“For the past two months, people, particularly Muslims, have been harassed since the hearings began. But she reacted only when the SIR exercise was nearing completion,” he said, demanding that Assembly elections be conducted based on the 2026 draft electoral roll to avoid wasting further time and harassment of people.