Kolkata, Aug 1 (PTI) In a politically and emotionally charged move, the West Bengal unit of the BJP has decided to launch a state-wide campaign invoking the pain of Partition to justify its demand for a special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters’ list, party sources said.
The decision was formally conveyed to district leaders at a party meeting held on Friday and follows a recent state core committee meeting where a directive was issued to organise seminars and programmes in every district.
“The focus will be on the plight of the Bengalis Hindus who fled East Pakistan during and after the Partition of 1947 and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971,” a senior BJP leader said.
“BJP functionaries at the grassroots have been asked to raise the emotive question: Should the victims of Partition be sidelined while infiltrators with forged papers are allowed to shape Bengal’s electoral destiny?” he said.
“These are the people who deserve to be on the voter list, not those who crossed the border yesterday,” another party leader quoted state president Samik Bhattacharya as telling district units.
According to the BJP, the SIR is necessary to weed out bogus names, especially in border districts such as North 24 Parganas, Malda, Nadia, and Murshidabad.
The BJP is demanding that Election Commission undertake an annual summary revision of electoral rolls, in a more rigorous SIR process to ensure the list’s integrity.
BJP insiders believe the Partition-themed outreach will resonate with large sections of Hindu voters, especially those who carry intergenerational memories of displacement, persecution, and rebuilding.
“The campaign is not just about documents, it’s about dignity and identity. We will take this message to every booth and every block,” said a state BJP office-bearer.
Party strategists are pitching the SIR campaign as a referendum on who rightfully belongs to Bengal’s democratic process — those who fled persecution or those who infiltrated with fraudulent papers.
Trinamool Congress leaders, however, slammed the move as a “desperate bid to polarise voters” ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
“They are trying to revive the Partition narrative to whip up fear and division. This is nothing but NRC through the backdoor,” a TMC spokesperson said. PTI PNT ACD
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