Mamata Banerjee accuses the Election Commission of becoming a "BJP Commission" and weaponizing the SIR voter revision to disenfranchise Bengal voters.
Brajesh Mishra
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a ferocious attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) on November 24-25, accusing it of transforming into a "BJP Commission." Addressing a massive rally in Bongaon, Banerjee alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is a deliberate tool to disenfranchise genuine voters ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. She vowed to "shake the entire nation's foundation" if the BJP attempts to "strike her in Bengal," signaling a major political confrontation over the one-month enumeration exercise set to conclude on December 4.
The controversy centers on Phase-II of the SIR, launched on November 4 across 12 states to update voter lists. While the ECI frames this as a routine constitutional duty to remove fake and duplicate voters, the opposition, led by the TMC, claims the timeline is impossibly short and politically motivated. Tensions have been exacerbated by reports of at least 16 deaths among Booth Level Officers (BLOs) due to work stress, a claim the ECI denies. Banerjee's allegations of "AI-enabled vote theft" and the hiring of private data operators have further fueled the standoff.
While the headlines focus on the political slugfest, the deeper story is the "Algorithmic Black Box." The ECI's deployment of AI facial recognition to detect duplicate voters introduces a layer of technological opacity into the democratic process. With no public audit of the algorithm's accuracy or bias, there is a legitimate fear that marginalized voters—often with poor-quality ID photos—could be disproportionately flagged for deletion by a machine, not a human. In a polarized climate, technology intended to clean the rolls risks becoming a weapon of "automated disenfranchisement," giving political actors plausible deniability for voter suppression.
This dispute sets the stage for a volatile 2026 election cycle. If the SIR results in significant deletions in TMC strongholds, it will validate Banerjee's narrative of a rigged system. Conversely, if the ECI pushes through without addressing transparency concerns, trust in India's electoral infrastructure could erode further. The humanitarian crisis among BLOs—overworked and under-protected—also highlights the human cost of rapid digitization mandates.
If a machine decides you aren't a voter, and the only appeal is to the institution that programmed it, is the ballot box still truly open?
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and why is Mamata opposing it? The SIR is a nationwide exercise by the Election Commission to update electoral rolls by verifying voters and removing duplicates. Mamata Banerjee opposes the Phase-II rollout in West Bengal, arguing the one-month timeline is too short and alleging it is a pretext to delete genuine voters from her support base.
Are voters being deleted in the West Bengal SIR? The ECI claims the process removes only "fake, duplicate, or deceased" voters. However, the TMC alleges that genuine voters, especially from the Matua community and rural areas, are being targeted for deletion under false pretenses.
Why did BLOs die during the SIR process? Reports indicate that at least 5 to 16 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have died across multiple states during the SIR period. Families and unions allege these deaths were caused by extreme work pressure, tight deadlines, and harassment, though the ECI denies a direct causal link.
Is the Election Commission using AI in the voter revision? Yes. The ECI is deploying AI-powered facial recognition technology to detect duplicate entries in the electoral roll. Critics fear this opaque technology could lead to mass disenfranchisement due to algorithmic bias or errors.
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