TMC Questions CEOs Announcement on Voter List Revisions Ahead of Elections
TMC raises concerns over CEOs announcement for voter list updates, questioning the timing and motives behind the initiative.
Kolkata, October 13 (Daily Kiran) : The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, has raised questions regarding the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) recent announcement about a campaign to add names of eligible voters removed from the electoral roll, as well as new voters. This statement was made on October 13 in Kolkata.
In a social media post released on Tuesday, the TMC accused the CEO’s office of indirectly admitting that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign was designed to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win seats that were previously considered unattainable. They expressed concerns over the timing of the announcement, questioning why the CEO’s office is only now launching an active campaign to ensure no eligible voter is left out.
The TMC’s post stated, “Where was this urgency before the elections? Why was the SIR process conducted in such haste and without proper planning?” They further indicated that the timing of the announcement raises serious doubts about the integrity, fairness, and neutrality of the entire process.
The statement emphasized that the Election Commission of India (ECI) must explain these discrepancies and ensure accountability instead of expecting citizens to accept the process without question. The TMC argued that logical inconsistencies and poorly executed SIR efforts have deprived citizens of their voting rights, allegedly to bring an “illegitimate government” to power. They asserted, “No government can claim legitimacy without public trust in the electoral process that brought it to power. Anything illegitimate cannot endure. The BJP government in Bengal will not last either.”
On the previous day, the CEO’s office claimed that district magistrates and electoral officers across all 24 districts had begun an active campaign to reinstate eligible voters and new registrants. The CEO stated that the goal of this initiative is to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded from the voter list, with special camps being organized throughout the state.
Additionally, the CEO’s office advised individuals with complaints to contact booth-level officers, assistant electoral registration officers, electoral registration officers, or the relevant district electoral officer.
