Kolkata:
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday announced the establishment of area-wise help desks across West Bengal from Tuesday, when Booth Level Officers (BLOs) begin home visits as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The move aims to ensure that no genuine voter is excluded from the updated list.
Speaking at a virtual meeting with party functionaries, TMC National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee instructed leaders to run the desks for at least a month and deploy teams of 15 people in every assembly constituency. Party workers will cross-check printed records against the Election Commission’s digital rolls and assist households with enumeration forms and documentation.
Banerjee warned that the party would escalate the matter to the national capital if omissions were found. “We will take the fight to Delhi. I will also be on the streets for the next few months,” he said, adding that legal action remains an option.
Reports of anomalies have already surfaced from parts of Cooch Behar (Mathabhanga) and North 24 Parganas (Ashoknagar), where residents who appeared on older rolls were missing from the new lists. Sources said senior leaders were asked to pay special attention to border districts, echoing concerns raised by Banerjee comparing the SIR process to Assam’s exclusions under the NRC.
The TMC has framed the help-desk campaign as a grassroots safeguard to prevent disenfranchisement, urging MPs and MLAs to personally monitor verification and offer on-the-spot assistance. Election Commission officials have said that voters whose names do not match the old and updated rolls will need to submit one of the prescribed documents to get included.