Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 20 : Congress workers on Tuesday protested outside the Election Commission's office in Kolkata against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal and raised slogans against the BJP-led central government.
The protesting Congress workers chanted the slogan "BJP Haaye Haaye, PM Modi Haaye Haaye".
The SIR exercise is ongoing in West Bengal. The deadline to file claims and objections was extended from January 15 to January 19, giving voters extra time to submit their applications (new voter name additions via Form 6, deletions via Form 7, and corrections via Form 8).
Further, hearings on these claims and objections will continue up to February 7, 2026. The Final electoral roll for West Bengal will be published on February 14, 2026.
The politics has heated up in West Bengal as the state is scheduled to hold Legislative Assembly elections later this year.
On Monday, amid the row over the SIR exercise in the state, TMC and BJP supporters clashed outside the Lalbagh SDO Office over Form 7 submission in Murshidabad.
The BJP alleged that TMC MLA Asit Majumdar tore Form 7s at the SDO office. "TMC MLA Asit Majumdar marching into the SDO office with goons and ripping up Form 7s is open lawlessness," the BJP said, sharing a video on X.
However, Majumdar refuted the allegations. Speaking to reporters in Hooghly, he said, "This is a lie. Have you seen me tearing it?"
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to display the names of the electors falling under the 'logical discrepancies' category in the ongoing SIR of the electoral rolls.
A three-judge bench led by CJI Surya Kant issued directions to the ECI on various pleas alleging procedural illegalities in the SIR exercise in West Bengal.
The apex court noted that the ECI has issued notices to certain persons described as falling under the category of 'logical discrepancies'. Thus, with a view to enabling persons included in the category, the Court issued a direction to publish the names of such persons at Gram Panchayat Bhavans, Block Offices, and Ward Offices.
The court asked the state government to provide adequate manpower to the ECI and the State Election Commission to entertain the documents and objections and to adhere to the hearing process for persons likely to be affected. In this regard, directions shall be issued by the ECI/State Government for the deployment of adequate personnel.