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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s plea contends that the SIR is a “backdoor” implementation of the National Register of Citizens via which legitimate voters will be disenfranchised
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has, in all likelihood, escalated her confrontation with the EC ahead of her meeting with its chief Gyanesh Kumar on February 2, 2026. (Image: PTI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has challenged the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in her state, filing a writ petition against the “unlawful” exercise before the Supreme Court on Sunday.
In doing so, Banerjee has, in all likelihood, escalated her confrontation with the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of her meeting with its chief Gyanesh Kumar on Monday (February 2) and with days left for Bengal’s final voter list to be published on February 14.
Her plea, ‘Mamata Banerjee v Election Commission of India’ – personally filed after her arrival in New Delhi, against the Election Commission (EC) and her state’s chief electoral officer – mainly contends that the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise is an unlawful manoeuvre designed to facilitate a “backdoor” implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) by potentially disenfranchising legitimate voters across the poll-bound state.
On Monday afternoon at 4 pm, she is scheduled to lead a 15-member Trinamool Congress delegation to meet chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. There, she is expected to personally raise her grievances regarding the SIR.
Banerjee has previously characterised the exercise as a vehicle for “unspeakable harassment”, alleging it has resulted in “as many as 140 deaths” and violates the Representation of the People Act. In a series of letters addressed to the CEC, she has sounded an alarm on what she describes as “institutional overreach” and a “dangerous erosion of trust” in democratic processes.
Her latest correspondence specifically highlights the unprecedented deployment of approximately 8,100 micro-observers. She argues that the roles, powers, and authority of these observers lack any legal basis, stating they are “neither defined, contemplated nor authorised” under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, or the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The chief minister has raised grave concerns regarding interference with statutory data management. She alleged that certain observers have unlawfully accessed and taken control of the ERONET portal, manipulating data in ways that could lead to the mass exclusion of eligible electors.
In her letter, she questioned whether statutory officials were being “rendered helpless, isolated and reduced to mere spectators” in the face of “unauthorised and unwarranted actions”. She has framed the SIR not as a neutral administrative process, but as a calculated political strategy by the opposition to manipulate the upcoming assembly elections through bureaucratic harassment.
Speaking at Kolkata airport before departing for New Delhi, the CM said the BJP is misusing the EC because it is certain of defeat.
“If they have the guts, I will appeal to them to contest politically and democratically instead of using the Election Commission,” she said.
She alleged that Bengal appears to be facing a “different set of rules” compared to other states and warned that the current methodology is “wholly against our democratic ethos, federalism and fundamental rights”. Vowing to fight the battle “inch to inch,” she reiterated her stance that she will not allow the implementation of the NRC or the establishment of detention camps in her state.
The question now is if Banerjee will plead the case herself before the Supreme Court, which will most likely hear the matter this week itself.
February 01, 2026, 23:20 IST
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