Opposition parties, civil rights groups come together to save voters’ rights in West Bengal

Several opposition parties and civil rights groups in West Bengal have united to safeguard voters' rights after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise led to the unlawful deletion of numerous people's names from the electoral rolls. The 'Sara Bangla Votadhikar Rokkha Jukto Moncho' (All Bengal Joint Forum to Safeguard Voting Rights) was formed, inviting all opposition political parties to a mass convention in Kolkata on November 21.

Election Commission's appeals against the inclusion of 16.10 lakh cleared voters have raised legal questions, as the officials filing these appeals may have lacked the authority under the Representation of the People Act. According to the Act, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Deputy Electoral Officer (DEO), Election Returning Officer (ERO), and Assistant Election Returning Officer (AERO) are the authorities responsible for electoral rolls.

Aimed at addressing these concerns, the West Bengal Congress leader, Prasenjit Bose, filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a time-bound, independent inquiry and a stay on the SIR implementation. He raised six major questions to the Election Commission of India (ECI), including how long it will take tribunals to dispose of the pending appeals and whether all 22 lakh voters who appealed to the tribunal for inclusion of their names will lose their voting rights in upcoming elections.

The SIR process in West Bengal occurred from October 2025 to February 2026, just before the Assembly election, which resulted in the Bharatiya Janata Party gaining power in the state for the first time. Over 91 lakh electors were deleted from the electoral rolls during the SIR, accounting for a 13% decrease in the number of voters in the state. Of the 27 lakh electors excluded from the rolls on the ground of 'logical discrepancies', 22 lakh have filed appeals before the tribunal, totaling 38 lakh pending appeals.