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Bengal SIR News: Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign is being conducted simultaneously in many states to update the Election Commission voter list. In West Bengal also, SIR is being run by the Commission. To ensure that the campaign is completed properly, camps are also being organized by the Election Commission so that the problems of the people can be resolved.
Bengal SIR News: Assembly elections are to be held in West Bengal next year. Before that, on the lines of Bihar, a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign is being run to update the voter list. SIR campaign is going on in other states also, but there is political uproar regarding it in West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) are continuously opposing SIR. CM Mamata Banerjee herself is leading the protest. She is making many serious allegations against the Election Commission as well as the opposition BJP. At the same time, a crowd of people crossing the border is being seen on the Bangladesh border. Amidst all this hustle and bustle, there is a stampede in Sonagachi, Asia’s largest red light area. Doubts and apprehensions have crept in among women involved in prostitution. People have started running out from there. Many NGOs requested the Election Commission to take appropriate steps in this regard. Now the Commission has talked about organizing a special camp in Sonagachi area, so that the problems of the people there can be heard and solved. Meanwhile, BJP has written a letter to the Commission alleging irregularities in the SIR.
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West Bengal SIR LIVE: The continuous return of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, which is happening through Hakimpur International Border in West Bengal, has now become a big political issue. This has further increased the conflict between BJP and TMC over infiltration, disputed voter list and the important SIR campaign of the Election Commission, while only a few months are left for the 2026 assembly elections. What was initially a silent and unnoticed return of migrants has now become a symbolic political event. The border post has now become an ideological battlefield, where visuals matter more than numbers. This reverse migration is small in number, but because of the pictures its impact has become huge and both the political parties are using it in their own ways. Local people and security officials at the India-Bangladesh border in Bangaon in North 24 Parganas district said that many undocumented Bangladeshis have been trying to return to their country since the beginning of November. All this is happening after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of voter list started in West Bengal.
special camp
The Election Commission (EC) is preparing to organize special camps on December 2 and 3 in other areas including Sonagachi, the city’s biggest red-light area. The objective of these camps is to overcome the problems faced by people engaged in prostitution in the processes related to voter list during Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The Commission has taken this decision in view of the difficulty in filling the SIR form in red-light areas. The first phase of SIR will run till December 4 and the draft voter list will be released on December 9. An official said that although the initial phase is going on, the Commission has decided that special camps should be set up in Sonagachi in advance. On November 21, three organizations working with sex workers (Society of Human Development and Social Action, Usha Multipurpose Co-operative Society and Amra Padatik) sent an email to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) informing him about the major problems being faced in the SIR process.
Election Commission took cognizance
After receiving the complaint, CEO (Chief Electoral Officer) Manoj Aggarwal assured to provide special hearing and assistance in red-light areas. According to an official, the CEO himself may join one of the camps. Mahasweta Mukherjee, Advocacy Officer of Amra Padatik, said that in many areas of the city, sex workers are facing difficulty in filling the forms. After this the CEO directed the district and election registration officers to go to these areas and help the people. Mukherjee went to the CEO office on Saturday and handed over a detailed letter related to the problems of areas like Sonagachi, Sethbagan, Rambagan, Jorabagan, Khidirpur, Kalighat and Bowbazar. The organizations had demanded to set up a camp on December 2. The CEO office replied that on December 2 and 3, officials would be sent to all the areas mentioned so that the problems related to SIR could be resolved on the spot. Amra Padatik’s secretary Sutapadi Saha said that many people had left the area due to fear of filling the SIR form. This initiative of the Commission will work to boost their confidence.
BJP’s serious allegation
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Subhendu Adhikari has made a big complaint regarding SIR. He has said that there is a large scale disturbance in this. Taking aim at the Mamata government, the BJP leader said that the administration has been accused of interference during the SIR process. He has written a letter to the Election Commission regarding this and has demanded immediate action. Shubhendu Adhikari also raised questions on the slow process of SIR and demanded to speed it up.
(Input: PTI)
