More than 16 lakh enumeration forms distributed in West Bengal by booth level officers till 4 pm on Tuesday
Voters in West Bengal show enumeration forms given to them by booth level officers. PIC/PTI
Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters’ list commenced in 12 states and three Union Territories on Tuesday with over 80,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) visiting homes to distribute enumeration forms. More than 16 lakh enumeration forms were distributed by the BLOs in West Bengal till 4 pm, a senior official said.
The Election Commission (EC) said its booth-level officers (BLOs) have fanned out to hand over semi-filled enumeration forms to electors and will also help them fill the required document. According to the schedule announced by the poll authority, SIR will begin with the enumeration stage and continue till December 4.
The EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9, and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7. The 12 states and UTs where the second round of SIR will be conducted are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. After Bihar, this is the second round of SIR.
‘Silent invisible rigging’
In Bengal, the exercise turned into a political battleground, pitting the BJP’s clout and the poll body’s push for “transparency” against the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) grassroots resistance ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday hit the streets of Kolkata, leading a protest rally against the SIR. The TMC has dubbed the exercise “silent invisible rigging” by the BJP-led Centre and the Election Commission.
TMC leader Derek O’Brien termed the SIR exercise a “con job organised by the Extremely Compromised body”. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ongoing SIR, alleging that the BJP-led Centre was using the exercise to “intimidate and disenfranchise” ordinary voters.
DMK moves SC
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has approached the Supreme Court against the SIR. In its plea before the top court, it has dubbed it a “de facto NRC” and has challenged its constitutional validity. However, the main opposition, AIADMK, an ally of the BJP, supports the exercise.
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