India
oi-Ashish Rana
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday supported the Election Commission in the ongoing row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. He blamed former CM Mamata Banerjee for the deletion of 27 lakh names and said neither the BJP nor the Election Commission was responsible for the deletions.
West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari supported the Election Commission over the voter list revision row, blaming Mamata Banerjee for 27 lakh deletions and asserting decisions were unanimous among the three commissioners after their joint meeting.
Adhikari Backs Election Commission
Adhikari also referred to Saturday’s meeting between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
He said the meeting and the Election Commission’s statement after it showed that decisions on the Bengal SIR were taken jointly by all three election commissioners, and not by the CEC alone.
“The responsibility for the deletion of 27 lakh names lies with Mamata Banerjee, not the BJP or the Election Commission. Judicial officers took the decision following the Supreme Court’s directions in a case filed by her,” Adhikari said at a press conference here.
EC Says SIR Decisions Were Unanimous
Adhikari’s intervention came a day after Banerjee sharpened her attack on the chief election commissioner, alleging that the SIR was used to help the BJP capture Bengal and demanding his resignation.
Seeking to blunt that offensive, Adhikari said, “The meeting of the three commissioners and the statement issued thereafter have made it clear that the SIR-related decisions were not taken by one person.
He was referring to the meeting at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi on September 26.
The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all SIR orders received unanimous consent from all three commissioners and that the updates to Form 6 for voter enrolment were upheld by the Supreme Court, as it sought to address issues at the centre of a raging row over decision-making in the poll panel and concerns over exclusion of voters from the rolls.
After its first meeting following reports claiming differences between the CEC and the two election commissioners, the poll panel said in a statement that the letters sent by commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary pertained to an officer on deputation, rather than policy or IT division matters.
Dispute Over Internal Differences
The EC remarks came against the backdrop of a report by The Indian Express that had highlighted instances of internal objections by the two election commissioners to certain decisions connected with the SIR.
The poll panel has maintained that differences during internal deliberations are normal and that its final decisions were unanimous.
The chief minister sought to exploit the contrast between the reported internal exchanges and the commission’s public show of unity, arguing that the latter undermined the opposition’s contention that the SIR was driven by the CEC alone.
Over 22 Lakh Electors Seek Restoration
The political stakes are high. More than 22 lakh of the 27.16 lakh electors deleted during the Bengal SIR have appealed for restoration, according to figures submitted by the EC to the Supreme Court.
The poll panel has said the deletions followed verification of discrepancies and categories including dead, shifted and duplicate entries.
Adhikari, however, framed the issue primarily as a political battle over the 2026 Assembly verdict.
“If SIR is good in Kerala, why is it bad in West Bengal? We have won 208 seats, while the two sides (TMC and its allies) have 80. Mamata Banerjee is unable to accept the people’s verdict,” he said.
