August 31, 2025

KOLKATA: Sparks flew between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders at a West Bengal all-party meeting on Friday. The meeting, called by the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), was meant to focus on the rationalisation of polling stations. But the talk soon switched to the spicy subject of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, turning the room into a political battlefield. Aroop Biswas, the TMC state minister present at the meeting, made it clear, “SIR will not be implemented in West Bengal. The SIR was not on today’s agenda. The meeting was called primarily to discuss the rationalisation of polling stations. We attended the ECI’s meeting to voice the concerns of the people. But some people come here with a political agenda.” On the other side, BJP leader Shishir Bajoria fired back, saying, “The TMC started saying that they won’t allow the SIR to be held in the state. The TMC is scared because it knows that if SIR is implemented, the names of dead voters, fake voters, and illegal voters would be deleted. That would put an end to the TMC’s game.” Congress members also joined the drama by carrying placards with anti-SIR slogans, adding to the fireworks. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to lower the number of voters per polling station from 1,500 to 1,200. This means the number of polling booths in West Bengal will jump from 80,000 to 95,000! Biswas clarified the TMC’s stand about the new booths. “We are not against booth rationalisation,” he said. “But the new booth, which would be set up to hold voters beyond the 1,200 mark, should be located within the same premises. It shouldn’t be far away and split voters of one locality into two.” He also demanded fairness from the poll officials, “We want the ECI to act in an unbiased manner. It should be fair and not serve any political party. What would remain of a game if the umpire or referee is biased and favours one team?” Meanwhile, political parties raised concerns over reports from district magistrates—who also work as district electoral officers—saying all parties had agreed to the polling station plans. Bajoria bluntly responded, “We had raised some objections in the all-party meetings held in the districts on the rationalisation of polling stations. It appears that the objections were not recorded in the minutes of the meetings. The DEOs should be issued showcause notices and action should be taken against them.” All in all, the meeting showed that West Bengal’s political playground is heating up well ahead of the 2026 elections. The battle over the electoral rolls and polling stations is just getting started!

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Tags: Tmc, Bjp, West bengal, Electoral rolls, Polling stations, Sir controversy,