The BJP approached the Election Commission on Monday, alleging “serious irregularities” in the issuance and certification of various documents used for voter registration in West Bengal, and demanding enhanced scrutiny of them during the process of examining electoral rolls.
A BJP delegation including party’s West Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya, election in-charge, former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb and Union Minister Shantanu Thakur also urged the poll panel to look into reports of various instances of “violence and intimidation” by leaders of the ruling TMC in West Bengal.
Video | A BJP delegation visits the Election Commission in Delhi to press for SIR in Bengal.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) says, “Today the BJP delegation met the EC, to underscore the need to review the documents for the SIR in Bengal. We submitted to the Commission,… pic.twitter.com/133MhBXljk
– Press Agency of India (@PTI_News) November 3, 2025
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In its memorandum to the poll panel, the BJP delegation pointed out “serious irregularities” in the issuance and attestation of birth certificates, permanent residence certificates, forest rights certificates, caste certificates, land and house allotment certificates and preparation of family records, which are used to register voters in the state.
“Given the widespread manipulation of authentication mechanisms and state machinery at risk, it is crucial that the upcoming Special Intensive Review (SIR) in West Bengal be conducted under enhanced scrutiny and independent verification,” the BJP delegation demanded.
She added that accepting documents without such guarantees would frustrate the goal of maintaining a “clean and legitimate” electoral register.
After the meeting, Amit Malviya, BJP’s West Bengal in-charge, told reporters: “The party delegation met the Election Commission to underscore the need to review the documents for SIR in West Bengal.” “We have given the committee detailed details on how illegal documents were issued in West Bengal to regulate illegal infiltration in the state,” said Malviya, who was also part of the delegation.
“We have seen how documents issued in West Bengal have been found in possession of hackers across the country,” he said. The BJP leader alleged that the Mamata Banerjee administration, from time to time, issued several documents bearing the signatures of officers who were not authorized “to release or sign such documents”.
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He said this created a situation where the EU needed to examine every document. “The Election Commission has taken note of our request and assured that it will ensure that the sanctity of documents is maintained,” Malviya added.
The Election Commission has announced that it will conduct the second phase of special intensive review of electoral rolls in 12 states and union territories between November and February.
The states and union territories are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
(tags for translation) West Bengal
