‘Desperate attempt to derail crucial process’: Suvendu Adhikari to CEC on Mamata Banerjee’s SIR allegations
Kolkata: The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has addressed a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, countering the allegations made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her correspondence to the CEC regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He has described these allegations as “baseless, exaggerated, and blown out of proportion”.
Adhikari on Sunday morning shared a copy of the letter on his X handle. He said, “I have written to the Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner of India, Shri Gyanesh Kumar, strongly countering the baseless, blown out of proportion and exaggerated allegations made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her letter dated January 10, 2026, regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls.”
The BJP leader further said, “I would again reiterate that her claims are nothing but a desperate attempt to derail this crucial process, which is exposing the rot in our voter lists; bogus entries, duplicates, and infiltrators that have been nurtured under TMC’s watch for years. This is damaging their electoral prospects, that’s why now she is resorting to hysteria.”
The move from the BJP’s Nandigram MLA came a day after Mamata Banerjee again wrote a letter to the CEC, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state was being carried out with the sole objective of deleting and excluding names of existing voters, rather than correcting errors or including new voters.
In her letter, the Chief Minister has said that her observation in the matter was because of the manner in which the Commission has been categorising voters under the “logical discrepancy” category and summoning them for hearings on claims and objections on the draft voters list, causing inconvenience and harassment to genuine and innocent voters.
Countering Banerjee’s allegations, Adhikari in his letter to CEC said, “In essence, this letter from the Chief Minister is a frantic bid to sabotage the SIR, as it has inflicted irreparable damage to the TMC’s prospects by exposing the rot in the voter rolls; rot that has allegedly been nurtured through years of unchecked additions of bogus voters, including infiltrators from across borders. Halting or diluting this exercise would betray the democratic ideals enshrined in our Constitution and disenfranchise genuine voters who deserve clean elections.”
While commending the ECI for its impartial and systematic approach to the SIR, Adhikari said the Chief Minister’s portrayal of this exercise as “unplanned, insensitive, and inhuman” was nothing short of a gross exaggeration, blown out of proportion to create public hysteria and shift focus from her government’s failures. “Her claims of harassment, intimidation, and disproportionate workload on ordinary citizens are unsubstantiated and seem designed to politicize a routine constitutional process,” he said in the letter.
The BJP leader added, “I urge the ECI to remain steadfast, ignore these diversionary tactics, and complete the SIR expeditiously, ensuring that West Bengal’s electorate reflects only eligible citizens. The people of our state deserve nothing less than an electoral process free from manipulation. I trust that the Commission will continue to uphold its Constitutional mandate with the highest standards of integrity.”