West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has called for a fresh special intensive revision (SIR) of the State’s electoral rolls, alleging that the previous exercise was improperly conducted and was accompanied by disruption and violence. His demand comes amid protests against the SIR process and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Mr. Bhattacharya, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, made the demand on Saturday while speaking to Bengali television channel ABP Ananda. He alleged that documents were seized and destroyed, and that officials and personnel involved in the process faced attacks in parts of the State.
“There is a need to have SIR once again here, because SIR was not properly carried out here,” he said, according to the report. He alleged that papers were taken from the vehicle of BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul and set on fire in the presence of police. He also claimed that block development officers and anganwadi workers were attacked and that roads were blocked.
The SIR process in West Bengal was conducted between October 2025 and February 2026, ahead of the State Assembly election. According to the report, 91 lakh electors were deleted from the electoral rolls during the exercise. This represented about 13% of the State’s electorate before the revision began.
The status of approximately 38 lakh electors remains unresolved before SIR tribunals established in connection with the Election Commission of India’s process. The report does not provide a final breakdown of the reasons for the deletions or the number of electors whose names may be restored.
The demand for a fresh revision comes as protests against the SIR exercise and Mr. Kumar were held in Kolkata during the previous week. Supporters of the Left parties, Congress and the All India Trinamool Congress participated in the demonstrations, according to the report. The protests have also been linked to wider demands for Mr. Kumar’s resignation and for the SIR exercise to be withdrawn.
Mr. Bhattacharya criticised the protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party, describing the organisers as politically irrelevant and saying that the agitation lacked public support. “Mobocracy can never replace democracy,” he said, while cautioning against disorder and direct challenges to the administration and judiciary.
The immediate administrative question is how the Election Commission will respond to the demand for another revision while the cases of about 38 lakh electors remain before the tribunals. No decision by the Commission on a fresh SIR in West Bengal was cited in the report.
