ECI Using BJP IT Cell Apps To Conduct SIR: Mamata
Opposition leader Suevendu Adhikari dismissed the allegations as baseless, saying TMC is angry as its vote bank of infiltrators will be exposed by the exercise.
Published : January 6, 2026 at 8:00 PM IST
Sagar Island (South 24 Parganas): Escalating her confrontation with the Election Commission of India (ECI), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the poll panel was illegally using mobile applications developed by the BJP's IT cell to conduct the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking to reporters before concluding her two-day visit to Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district to review preparations for the upcoming Gangasagar Mela, Banerjee accused the commission of adopting what she described as "wrong, unconstitutional and undemocratic" methods in carrying out the revision exercise ahead of next year's assembly elections.
"The EC is resorting to all kinds of wrong moves for conducting the SIR. It is marking eligible voters as dead, and forcing the elderly, ill and indisposed to attend hearings. The mobile app of the commission has been developed with assistance from the BJP's IT cell. This is illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic. This cannot continue," she said.
She appealed to the public to exercise caution while participating in the revision process. "I urge the people to remain careful while participating in SIR. They must stand beside those who need help. They don't need to support me; support only those who are in trouble because of this exercise," she added.
The CM alleged that the names of genuine voters were being struck off arbitrarily, creating fear and confusion at the grassroots and claimed that even bedridden elderly citizens were being compelled to appear before officials as part of the verification process.
Banerjee's allegations drew a sharp response from the BJP, as Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari dismissed them as "baseless" and politically motivated. "SIR is a routine administrative process overseen by the Election Commission and is essential to ensure the integrity of electoral rolls. The TMC is angry because it is wary that its vote bank of infiltrators and fake voters will be exposed," he said. The saffron party has accused the TMC of attempting to undermine constitutional institutions and create unnecessary panic among voters ahead of the elections.
Banerjee's remarks marked the sharpest charge yet in a rapidly intensifying standoff between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government and the poll panel over the SIR, an exercise mandated periodically to update and verify electoral rolls, but has turned out to be politically contentious in West Bengal.
The exercise has been blamed for the deaths of citizens in various parts of the state, with allegations that BLOs have ended their own lives due to the extreme work pressure, while many fell ill. Banerjee has written to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar multiple times, demanding an immediate halt to this process.
Banerjee's fresh allegations came on a day when senior TMC leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission, accusing it of taking recourse to "arbitrary and procedurally irregular actions" while revising.
In its petition, the TMC claimed the SIR exercise had "substantially aggravated difficulties faced by eligible and bona fide electors" across the state, particularly among elderly voters, the infirm and those from marginalised backgrounds.
On December 31, 2025, a delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs, led by the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, visited the Election Commission office in New Delhi on the same issue. Following the meeting, Banerjee alleged that the poll body was stealing votes for the BJP, and that this was being done through the SIR process.
[With agency inputs]
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