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Will Election Commission conduct an SIR in Bengal? CEC Gyanesh Kumar responds
Earlier in July, the ECI had released the data from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll last conducted in West Bengal in 2002.
Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) will decide about conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and other states at an appropriate time.
Kumar made the remarks while addressing a question about the possibility of an SIR in Bengal during a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday.
“We three (election) commissioners will decide at an appropriate time and take a decision on when to conduct SIR in West Bengal or other states,” Gyanesh Kumar said. “It will be announced at an appropriate time.”
Earlier in July, the ECI had released the data from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll last conducted in West Bengal in 2002, amid concerns about a fresh such exercise in neighbouring poll-bound Bihar and chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to it.
The Bengal data was published on Monday under the head of “Electoral Roll of SIR, 2002” on the website of the state’s chief electoral officer.
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It covers 11 of the state’s 23 districts—Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, Midnapore, and Bankura, covering 103 of 294 assembly constituencies.
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress has slammed the SIR in Bihar, alleging it was a ploy to surreptitiously introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Also Read | Supreme Court allows claims against name deletion in Bihar SIR with Aadhaar Card
On July 21, Banerjee vowed she would not allow SIR in Bengal. She asked Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to ensure that names of voters are not struck off from the electoral roll and people are not harassed.
“The ECI takes over only after the poll dates are announced. Until then, and even after that, the administration lies with the state government. You are employees of the state government. Do not harass any individual needlessly,” she said at an administrative meeting in Birbhum.
West Bengal is due to go to the polls in 2026.
