Bengal SIR: ECI clarifies why it refused Trinamool’s demand for BLA entry in hearing centres
Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified why Trinamool Congress’ demand to allow the party’s booth-level agents at the ongoing hearing sessions on the claims and objections regarding the draft voters’ list in West Bengal was turned down by it.
The hearing session is the main part of the second stage of the three-phase Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that in case the Trinamool Congress’ demand for allowing BLAs at the hearing session is accepted, then similar demands from other political parties, six national parties, and two state parties in the state registered with the ECI will also have to be accepted.
In that case, in each hearing table, there will be a total of 11 individuals, namely one Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), one Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO), one micro-observer, and eight BLOs from these eight political parties.
“If so many people are allowed to be crowded at a single hearing table, then it will be virtually impossible for the electoral officers to conduct this hearing process. So for all practical purposes, permission for the BLAs to be present at the hearing session is out of question,” clarified the CEO’s office insider.
Trinamool Congress and All India Forward Bloc are among the two state parties in West Bengal that are registered with the ECI, while the six national parties are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress, CPI (M), Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and National People’s Party (NPP).
Trinamool Congress leadership, however, has claimed that the ECI has deliberately rejected their plea for allowing BLAs at the hearing session, since it is quite aware that other registered political parties in the state, especially the BJP, do not have enough strength to field BLAs for all the hearing tables.
However, the CEO’s office sources said that the ECI could not operate on the conjecture of the strengths of individual parties as regards to fielding an adequate number of BLAs. “The Commission had to apply uniform rules for all political parties, and the rules are framed on the basis of their practical applicability. Hence, the uniform rule for not allowing BLAs at the hearing sessions is applicable for all political parties,” the CEO’s office source explained.
The draft voters’ list was published on December 16, 2025. The final voters’ list will be published on February 14, 2026. Soon after that, the ECI will announce the polling dates for the Assembly elections in the state, scheduled for this year.