Dhubulia (WB), Jan 20 (PTI) Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday accused the ruling TMC of unleashing “statewide anarchy” to derail the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls and shield illegal infiltrators, as the exercise emerged as a major political flashpoint ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Addressing a public meeting at Dhubulia in Nadia, a district bordering Bangladesh, Adhikari alleged that BJP offices were being attacked, party camps targeted and roads illegally blocked across the state to intimidate those supporting the revision process.
He claimed the violence reflected the ruling party’s desperation in the face of heightened scrutiny of the electoral rolls.
Framing the SIR as a decisive crackdown on illegal voters, the BJP leader said the Election Commission’s first phase of the exercise, which led to the omission of 58 lakh names from the voter list, was only a “trailer”.
“Infiltration through the border is continuing unabated. They are entering in droves. The Election Commission has just begun. Breakfast is over, lunch will be on February 14,” Adhikari said, referring to the date when the final electoral rolls is scheduled to be published.
Calling upon voters to extend full cooperation to the SIR, he acknowledged that some genuine Indian citizens had received hearing notices, but sought to absolve the Election Commission of blame.
“The Election Commission is not responsible. The responsibility lies with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, which allowed this situation to arise,” he said.
Using sharp rhetoric, Adhikari alleged that the revision exercise had exposed Bangladeshi Muslim illegal infiltrators and Rohingyas, claiming the process was meant to weed out fake voters. He asserted that bringing the BJP to power was essential to end infiltration and restore law and order in the state.
His comments come a day after the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to publish a list of “logical discrepancies” in the electoral rolls and issue receipts to those submitting documents.
The ruling TMC, on the other hand, accused the BJP and the Election Commission of politicising the SIR to target its support base. Senior party leader Abhishek Banerjee claimed the Supreme Court had effectively endorsed the TMC’s position by directing the Commission to make the process more transparent.
He alleged that the Election Commission was now attempting to curtail the voting rights of nearly 1.36 crore people by issuing “logical discrepancy” notices. Banerjee also claimed that panic surrounding the SIR had led to 92 deaths over the past two months, an allegation the Election Commission has denied.
According to Election Commission officials, following the first phase of the SIR on December 16, the draft electoral roll showed the electorate in West Bengal shrinking from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore, with over 58 lakh names deleted.
The second phase involves hearings of 1.67 crore electors under scrutiny, including 1.36 crore cases flagged for logical discrepancies and 31 lakh electors whose records lack proper mapping.
With both the BJP and the TMC hardening their positions, the SIR has become a central fault line in Bengal’s political landscape, intertwining questions of electoral integrity, allegations of illegal infiltration and the high-stakes contest for power in the 2026 Assembly elections. PTI PNT NN
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