7 months ago
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The Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party erstwhile again locked horns implicit the ongoing peculiar intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls successful West Bengal connected Wednesday (November 12, 2025), with Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of issuing orders ‘favouring’ the BJP.
He was referring to an ECI announcement dated November 11, allowing the assignment of governmental party-affiliated booth level agents (BLAs) for a definite polling station, who mightiness beryllium electors astatine a antithetic polling booth successful the aforesaid Assembly constituency.
“Earlier, the criteria was that the BLA has to beryllium [an elector] of the aforesaid booth wherever they are being appointed, truthful they tin assistance officers of that booth. Since the BJP cannot name BLAs wrong the aforesaid polling booths successful astir 75% cases, the Election Commission passed an bid successful their favour… They relaxed a stringent information to accommodate the BJP,” Mr Banerjee alleged.
‘Totally biased’
The ECI’s announcement to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of each States and Union Territories modified its earlier guideline, saying that “in lawsuit of unavailability of BLA from the aforesaid Part of the electoral roll, BLA whitethorn beryllium appointed from immoderate registered elector of the aforesaid Assembly constituency.”
Mr. Banerjee alleged that the announcement was “proof that the electoral assemblage is moving to easiness the BJP’s problems, and nary 1 else’s”, asking wherefore the ECI deviated from its ain erstwhile guideline. “The Election Commission is wholly biased… The mode the Election Commission is destroying its ain organization legacy, it is embarassing for India’s democracy,” the Sreerampur MP said.
Delimitation impact
Citing the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, helium besides claimed that the electoral rotation of 2002 cannot beryllium taken into relationship by law, arsenic West Bengal had besides undergone a delimitation workout successful 2009.
“Where determination has been delimitation, the electoral rotation has to beryllium revised. That has to beryllium taken into consideration, and nary electoral rotation anterior to delimitation volition beryllium taken into account. It is the law. In that case, 2002’s electoral rotation cannot beryllium considered. After delimitation, a caller rotation has been published, and erstwhile determination has been a caller electoral roll, authorities cannot bash otherwise,” Mr. Banerjee said.
BJP response
The Leader of Opposition of the West Bengal Assembly and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari responded to the Trinamool’s allegations, asking wherefore BLAs cannot hail from a antithetic polling booth during an SIR, fixed that, during elections, polling agents tin hail from a antithetic booth successful the aforesaid Constituency.
“If we tin see the Assembly [constituency] arsenic the centre successful lawsuit of appointing polling agents successful booths, past they indispensable see Assembly [constituency] arsenic the centre successful lawsuit of appointing BLA-2s. Yesterday, Election Commission gave a concession that BLA-2 of immoderate governmental enactment tin hail from a antithetic booth successful the aforesaid Assembly constituency,” Mr. Adhikari said.
BLO enactment affiliations
A BJP delegation met the West Bengal CEO connected Wednesday, raising respective concerns, including the governmental affiliation of booth-level officers (BLOs) carrying retired the SIR workout and duplication of voters.
“We submitted a pen thrust and hard copies of impervious of dormant voters and 13.25 lakh treble and triple entries [in emuneration forms]. The CEO accepted it and instructed officials to probe our allegations successful each 294 Assembly constituencies,” Mr. Adhikari said.
He added that the BJP had flagged 5,700 BLOs implicit alleged violations of the ECI’s rules concerning their appointments, pointing retired instances of governmental affiliations among BLOs. The BJP has sought the CEO office’s effect connected the result of their complaints, and the CEO has assured them of investigations and further action, helium said.
