Mamata writes to CEC again about methodology adopted in SIR exercise

I am again constrained to write to you regarding the methodology and approach, beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Rules framed thereunder, being followed in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision SIR of the electoral rolls in West Bengal, the TMC chief said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday evening again wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar about the methodology and approach adopted during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. In the fresh letter, Banerjee referred to her previous communication, where she had pointed out several issues that have not only caused ''immense inconvenience and agony to the people'', resulting in ''as many as 140 deaths'' during the course of the exercise but have also been imposed in ''blatant violation'' of the Act and Rules in force, in ''total disregard of human rights and basic humanitarian considerations''. ''I am again constrained to write to you regarding the methodology and approach, beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Rules framed thereunder, being followed in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal,'' the TMC chief said. ''Recently, for the first time in the electoral history of India, the Election Commission of India has deployed approximately 8,100 micro observers (MOs) in West Bengal during the ongoing SIR process. These micro observers are being unilaterally engaged by the EC without adequate training or demonstrated expertise for such a specialised, sensitive and quasi-judicial exercise,'' she said. Banerjee said the role, functions and authority of micro observers during electoral revision are neither defined, contemplated nor authorised under Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 or any other statutory instrument governing the preparation and revision of electoral rolls. ''Notably, no such deployment of micro observers for decision making through ERONET portal has been undertaken by the EC in any other state or Union territory where SIR processes are currently underway, rendering this measure selectively applicable to West Bengal,'' she said. Besides, four IAS officers belonging to the Tripura cadre have been appointed as observers vide letter dated January 10, 2026, in addition to five other observers from the Centre and 12 from West Bengal. It is reported that some observers are functioning from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and have taken control of the EC portal, Banerjee said. The CM had earlier said she would go to Delhi to meet the CEC in person next week and flag the anomalies and discrepancies and the sufferings of people. Banerjee wrote to the CEC on two previous occasions, on January 3 and 10, flagging her concerns on several issues. On January 3, she urged Kumar to immediately halt the SIR process, and warned that it could cause ''mass disenfranchisement'' and ''irreparable damage'' to India's democratic foundations. She also expressed ''grave concern'' over alleged irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses in the conduct of the SIR in the state, asserting that the process had been undertaken in an ''unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc manner''. On January 10, Banerjee alleged that SIR has been turned into an exercise to exclude voters rather than correct records. In her letter, Banerjee accused the EC of political bias and high-handedness during the exercise. ''The hearing process has become largely mechanical, driven purely by technical data and completely devoid of the application of mind, sensitivity and human touch,'' she said in the three-page letter. She said the exercise's aim seemed ''neither of correction nor of inclusion... but solely of deletion and of exclusion''.

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