In West Bengal, the ongoing special intense revision (SIR) of electoral records in preparation for the 2026 assembly elections has descended into a full-fledged political conflict between the BJP and chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The two parties are engaged in a fierce dispute, exchanging charges of tribal politics and electoral fraud.
Mamata’s Claim: EC Is a BJP Employee
CM Mamata Banerjee led a sizable anti-SIR rally in Kolkata on Tuesday, claiming that if “even a single eligible voter was omitted” from the records, the BJP-led government at the center would undoubtedly fall. She accused the BJP of using the Election Commission (EC) as a political tool and claimed that the revision effort was being carried out maliciously and selectively.
The main accusation against the TMC chief is “clear discrimination.” She insisted that the EC clarify why the vigorous revision drive is being carried out in states that are run by the opposition, like West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, but is allegedly being ignored in states that are ruled by the BJP, including Assam and Tripura, all of which have elections scheduled for next year. She implied that the SIR was an intentional attempt to frighten and deny legal voters their right to vote by connecting it to the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“How many Rohingyas or Bangladeshis were found in Bihar after the SIR there?” CM Mamata mockingly questioned, challenging the BJP’s story of “illegal voters” in West Bengal.
The Counterattack by the BJP: Appeasement and Fraud
With an emphasis on the TMC’s claimed electoral fraud and charges of communal appeasement against the chief minister, the BJP began a vicious counteroffensive.
Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari met with the chief electoral officer (CEO) and filed a formal protest, claiming that the TMC and related organizations, such as I-PAC, were trying to use fictitious documents to add the names of deceased people to the voter list. Adhikari presented what the party claimed was a “fake birth certificate” as proof of his claim that “there is a deliberate effort to make dead voters appear alive.”
Subsequently, Adhikari attacked the chief minister personally by referring to the protest demonstration as a “Jamaat” program headed by “Khala” Mamata Banerjee. The BJP regularly uses this accusation to claim that the TMC is only protecting “Bangladeshi Muslims.”
“Today, Mamata Banerjee crossed the line with an extremely offensive remark while defending illegal Bangladeshi Muslims,” said Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s IT cell, on X. In order to “deliberately and cunningly every time to consolidate her only vote bank,” Malviya accused her of mocking Hindu deities. The chief minister was then urged to be overthrown by “Bengali Hindu devotees.”
From Balurghat, actor-turned-BJP politician Mithun Chakraborty also offered his thoughts, casting doubt on the TMC’s intentions: “For whom is Mamata Banerjee actually protesting? Neither the expulsion of Hindus nor the expulsion of Indian Muslims has been announced by the Election Commission. She is just acting in this way for political reasons.
As a result, the contest over the electoral rolls has evolved from a simple administrative matter into a contentious political and cultural conflict, thereby signaling the unofficial start of the 2026 Bengal assembly election campaign.
