4 months ago
1
Launching a scathing onslaught connected the Election Commission of India (ECI) implicit the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls successful West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) connected Wednesday (December 31, 2025) claimed that “vote chori” (theft) was taking spot via elector lists and not Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). It would contention the last SIR database legally if it had discrepancies, the enactment said.
Trinamool nationalist wide caput Abhishek Banerjee led the 10-member delegation that met the afloat Commission successful a gathering that lasted astir two-and-a-half hours. The enactment flagged the contented of 1.36 crore voters who had been marked for “logical discrepancies” and called for hearings, Mr. Banerjee said.
The TMC needed to guarantee that nary Booth-Level Officer (BLO), ERO (Electoral Registration Officer), and different polling officials were threatened during the ongoing SIR process, failing which it would instrumentality strict action, the ECI said.
The delegation had raised a big of questions, but isolated from two-three points, determination was nary clarity connected astir of the 10-11 questions raised, helium said. “Queries connected the SIR were repeatedly diverted to citizenship issues, portion questions connected deletions were met with procedural responses specified arsenic filling Form 7, without immoderate factual explanation,” the Trinamool MP said.
“If it (the SIR) has discrepancies, wherefore would we judge it? We would combat it legally,” Mr. Banerjee said, erstwhile asked if they would judge the last electoral rotation for West Bengal aft the SIR was completed.
Also work | EC halts hearings for unmapped voters successful West Bengal conditionally
One of the astir important points highlighted by the delegation, helium said, was “logical discrepancies” affecting astir 1.36 crore voters, which could beryllium divided into immoderate sub-categories, including unreasonable property gaps betwixt parents and children, discrepancies with grandparents’ ages, sanction and surname mismatches, and address-related issues.
No elaborate discrepancy database had been made public, Mr. Banerjee said. Several specified cases, wherever documents had been submitted and marked “found okay” had been sent proceeding notices anyway, helium said. The ECI told the delegation determination mightiness beryllium method flaws successful the app, helium added.
The TMC delegation besides raised the substance of calling elder citizens for hearings, and asked wherefore the bid to guarantee location hearings for those supra 85 years was issued lone recently. All elder citizens aged 60 years and supra should beryllium allowed location hearings, the enactment demanded. The EC, Mr. Banerjee said, indicated it would see this.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar was trying to “weaponise” the electoral rolls, the Trinamool delegation claimed. The EC should clarify wherefore galore of the 58 lakh names missing from the draught database were Rohingya oregon Bangladeshi nationals arsenic nary credible information had been provided, the delegation stated. “While identifying and deporting amerciable immigrants is justified, transparency regarding these numbers was demanded,” Mr. Banerjee said.
“We besides questioned the selective deployment of micro-observers successful West Bengal,” the Trinamool person said, alleging an effort to malign the representation of Bengal.
The TMC delegation besides flagged what it claimed was the assignment of a 3rd enactment bureau named Data Mission for conducting surveys successful Bengal. On proceeding this, the CEC had said that helium was not alert of specified an appointment, and had suggested that it had astir apt been done by the bureau of the Chief Electoral Officer without the CEC’s knowledge, Mr. Banerjee claimed.
Raising the plight of migrant workers who person been called for carnal hearings, dissimilar successful Bihar, the TMC delegation demanded that hearings beryllium held virtually.
“This is ballot theft. Vote theft does not hap done EVMs. No different governmental enactment was capable to constituent this retired successful different States,” Mr. Banerjee said.
“I entreaty to each like-minded parties, particularly those successful the Opposition — the theft is happening successful the elector list, successful the software, not successful the EVM. You are failing to recognize what algorithms and bundle are being tally to disenfranchise and region 50 lakh to 1 crore voters. And if this is not happening, past merchandise the database of 1.36 crore logical discrepancies,” helium said.
Meanwhile, the TMC was told to guarantee its ground-level governmental representatives were not progressive successful threatening of immoderate unit connected predetermination duty, sources successful the EC told The Hindu, adding that the enactment had been warned of strict enactment against miscreants who tried to instrumentality the instrumentality into their ain hands.
