Kolkata, West Bengal: West Bengal’s political landscape came alive on Tuesday, November 4, as the state witnessed two massive and competing rallies over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The high-decibel events, held in the state capital and its outskirts, highlighted the growing friction between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the assembly elections due by March 2026.

At the heart of the TMC’s protest was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who led a 3.8-kilometre rally from the statue of BR Ambedkar on Red Road to Jorasanko Thakur Bari, the ancestral home of poet Rabindranath Tagore. Clad in her signature white cotton saree and slippers, Mamata held an edition of the Constitution of India, symbolically highlighting the party’s opposition to what she and her party describe as an unconstitutional targeting of voters under the SIR exercise. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, the Chief Minister’s nephew and a prominent MP, accompanied her along with several senior leaders and ministers.

Thousands of TMC supporters lined the rally route, waving flags and chanting slogans. The party’s leadership used the platform to amplify concerns over the Special Intensive Revision, which it has termed “silent invisible rigging” (SIR). Mamata accused the BJP and the Election Commission of allegedly branding all Bengali migrants as Bangladeshi infiltrators, claiming the exercise was a veiled attempt to manipulate voter rolls and influence electoral outcomes. “The BJP wants to win polls on the basis of notes, not votes,” she said, underlining her party’s position that the SIR could disenfranchise legitimate voters.

BJP’s Counter-Rally

Simultaneously, the BJP orchestrated a counter-rally, led by Suvendu Adhikari, the state’s Leader of Opposition. The ‘Parivartan Yatra’—literally a ‘walk for change’—covered a 2-kilometre stretch from Sodepur Traffic More to Agarpara Tentultala More in the Panihati assembly constituency. Adhikari asserted that the TMC was misleading the public and warned that opposition to the SIR was “unconstitutional.” He stressed that every illegal voter, particularly Bangladeshi infiltrators, should be identified and deported, while the SIR should proceed in full to ensure the integrity of voter lists.

Adhikari also challenged the TMC’s narrative linking recent suicides to panic over the SIR. Highlighting one case from Panihati’s Agarpara area, he accused the TMC of fabricating connections between these deaths and the revision process to derail the initiative. “Those whose parents have valid residential and birth documents need not worry,” he said, urging citizens not to be misled by what he described as fearmongering tactics by the ruling party.

SIR and the NRC Connection

At the center of the controversy is the SIR exercise, which involves verifying and updating voter lists in order to remove duplicate, fake, or illegal entries. Opposition parties, particularly the TMC, have argued that the SIR represents a backdoor implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). They claim that the revision places a disproportionate burden on voters, especially Muslims and other vulnerable groups, to prove their citizenship through documents that may be difficult for them to produce.

The NRC, along with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019, has remained a flashpoint in Indian politics. Critics of the NRC and CAA argue that these measures discriminate along religious lines, granting legal status to some immigrant groups while leaving others, particularly Muslims, exposed to potential disenfranchisement. The TMC has positioned the SIR as part of this larger narrative, warning that ordinary citizens, particularly from marginalized communities, could face undue stress or threats of deportation if they cannot provide the required documentation.

Abhishek Banerjee reportedly advised residents to “confront and tie up local BJP leaders” if they were asked to submit parental birth certificates, emphasizing the party’s approach of mobilizing grassroots resistance against the SIR. Mamata and Abhishek have consistently framed the exercise as a political strategy rather than a neutral administrative measure, claiming that the BJP is attempting to suppress a significant portion of the electorate that might not support it.

Political Stakes and Electoral Implications

The rallies underscore the high stakes in West Bengal, where the BJP is making a concerted push to expand its base, while the TMC seeks to consolidate its traditional supporters. The SIR exercise, already implemented in Bihar and other states, has now commenced in 12 states and Union Territories. In West Bengal, the revision has become a flashpoint in the run-up to assembly polls, with both parties using it to rally supporters and shape public narratives.

For the TMC, the SIR controversy offers a platform to mobilize Bengali identity politics and frame the BJP as an external threat targeting local voters. For the BJP, the exercise is framed as a necessary measure to ensure electoral integrity and root out illegal voters, reinforcing the party’s broader narrative of law, order, and citizenship enforcement.

Public Reaction and Civil Concerns

While the rallies primarily drew political attention, there are underlying concerns about public anxiety over the SIR exercise. The TMC has linked some recent suicides to panic over verification requirements, asserting that people fear deportation or imprisonment if they fail to produce certain documents. Adhikari and the BJP, however, have dismissed these claims as politically motivated attempts to obstruct the process.

The Election Commission has maintained that it is acting as an independent constitutional body with the objective of maintaining accurate and transparent electoral rolls. Officials have emphasized that the SIR is a routine administrative procedure aimed at removing duplicate and illegal entries to uphold the integrity of elections.

Conclusion

Tuesday’s events reflect the deep political polarization in West Bengal ahead of the assembly elections. The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, leveraged the SIR controversy to mobilize mass support and highlight perceived threats to voter rights, while the BJP, under Suvendu Adhikari, framed the exercise as a legitimate and necessary action to ensure the credibility of the electoral process.

As the SIR exercise progresses in West Bengal, it is likely to remain a central issue of contention in the state’s political discourse. With both rallies drawing large crowds and intense media attention, the debate over citizenship, voter rights, and political strategy is expected to intensify, shaping narratives leading into the critical 2026 assembly elections.

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