Battle of the rolls in Bengal: How SIR is deepening political faultlines

The report looks at how the SIR has widened political faultlines, and triggered anxiety among voters, ahead of Assembly polls next year

Ever since the Election Commission (EC) triggered the special intensive revision (SIR) process in West Bengal, Naba Jana (name changed) of Paschim Medinipur has barely slept. The reason? On paper, his identity doesn’t line up the way it should. His surname differs from his father’s in every document. 

He has an affidavit to explain the discrepancy, but the fear persists: What if his name disappears from voter rolls? Will he be sent to a detention camp? What happens to his access to welfare schemes? 

Jana is not the only anxious one. The uncertainty is shared across class and faith in Bengal — each for their own reasons. And with Assembly polls next year, the SIR is shaping the narrative across political fault lines. 

TMC, EC face-off 

On November 28, a 10-member delegation from the TMC met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi, armed with a five-point agenda, and a list of booth-level officers (BLOs) and voters who reportedly succumbed to stress under mounting pressure ahead of the December 4 deadline for submission and uploading of enumeration forms (EFs). 

The delegation said it was not against the concept of SIR but opposed the “unplanned” manner in which the EC was going about it. These were among the many posers the TMC volleyed at the EC: How has the electoral roll, that was valid during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, suddenly become unreliable now? Why should the Union government elected by this ‘faulty’ electorate  not be dissolved? Does the EC or the CEC take responsibility for the deaths of numerous BLOs, who have all cited inhuman pressure of SIR as the primary reason behind their distress? 

The EC told the delegation that preparation of electoral rolls as well as conducting elections in India are in line with the Constitution and electoral law, and TMC should abide by it.  It further requested them to submit claims and objections when the draft list is shared with them. Until then, they should not interfere with the independent functioning of BLOs, electoral registration officers, and district election officers who are state government employees on deputation to election related works. 

Soon after the delegation visit, the EC appointed retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta as the special roll observer for the Bengal SIR to ensure that “no eligible person is left out of the electoral rolls and no ineligible elector is included in it.” It also appointed 12 IAS officers as ‘electoral roll observers’ to oversee and help officials in taking corrective measures. 

On Sunday, the ECI extended the enumeration period by a week to December 11. The TMC said that the move confirmed that the EC never had the resources, planning, or the ground preparedness to complete such a massive exercise in two months. 

Then and now 

The EC has chosen 2002 as the base year for revising the electoral rolls. Yet, few recall that process — especially compared to the fear surrounding it today. 

According to political analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, there is a paranoia playing out across India over what happens if one can’t produce the documents the EC is asking for, in the event that a name is missing from the 2002 list. “This is more so in Bengal because it borders Bangladesh. With the repeated claim that undocumented migrants are flooding the state, the fear is: If people without full documentation are treated the same, will they face detention? That uncertainty is shaping public sentiment,” he explained. 

But why did the same exercise go unnoticed in 2002? According to Basu Ray Chaudhury, it had stretched across nearly two years, and this time, the EC has barely allotted two months. “As a result, everyone is under pressure.” 

Mohammed Salim, CPI (M) West Bengal state secretary, has a different theory. “The electoral roll revision in 2002 was not seen through the religious spectrum, unlike the present day,” he said. He added that the BJP  was doing divisive politics with SIR and pointed to West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s comment from July, when he had said the state could have 12.5 million ‘illegal immigrants’ in the voters’ list, and that all Bangladeshis and Rohingyas would be “pushed back”. 

Even the Matuas — a key vote base in Bengal politics — are apprehensive about the SIR. Several from the community with roots in present-day Bangladesh are applying for citizenship under the CAA. At an anti-SIR rally in North 24 Parganas’ Bongaon, CM Mamata Banerjee said voters in Matua-majority areas would be “delisted” if they declared themselves foreigners under the CAA. 

Shadow on Assembly polls 

Clearly, the SIR is turning up the heat in Bengal, with Assembly polls just a few months away. It comes against the backdrop of a crackdown on illegal immigrants in several parts of India, that allegedly led to detentions and mistreatment of workers from West Bengal — prompting Banerjee to announce Bhasha Andolan (language movement). 

What will be the political fallout? According to political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty, it’s yet to unfold. “But SIR will determine who will win the battle — it’s a vote before the vote,” he said. 

Basu Ray Chaudhury  believes that the SIR will be a determining factor in a close contest. “Even though there are anti-incumbency factors, it’s unlikely to be a close fight. It’s still advantage TMC as of now,” he said. 

State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya is confident that SIR will tip the scales in his party’s favour. “What’s happening in our state is a silent demographic invasion. In the 2021 elections, TMC won several seats due to Bangladeshi infiltrators and fake voters. This time, it will lose” he said. 

In some months, the EVM will have the final say.