The Election Commission began training booth level officers in West Bengal for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, while the Trinamool Congress launched a parallel assistance operation amid accusations of voter deletions. Abhishek Banerjee directed party agents to monitor BLOs closely and set up thousands of help camps starting November 4. The Calcutta High Court admitted a petition seeking court-monitored SIR on October 31.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) started training Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across West Bengal on October 31, 2025, for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The training focused on a mobile application for on-ground verification and distribution of enumeration forms. "BLOs will be trained to operate the application, identify acceptable documents and explain procedures to voters," a senior ECI official stated. To address technical issues, the ECI launched a new website allowing voters to search 2002 SIR lists without crashes.
In response, Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee held a virtual meeting with party leaders on the same day, announcing 6,200 voter-assistance camps across 2,861 municipal wards and 3,345 gram panchayats from November 4 to December 4. Each camp will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., equipped with laptops, printers, and Wi-Fi to help voters check names, submit claims and objections, and report irregularities. Banerjee instructed district-level Booth Level Agents (BLA-1s) to appoint BLA-2s as "shadow companions" to BLOs during door-to-door verifications, ensuring no BLO is left unattended. He described the next six months as an "acid test," warning that if even one eligible voter's name is removed, one lakh people from Bengal would protest outside the ECI office in New Delhi.
TMC accuses the SIR, dubbed "Silent Invisible Rigging," of being a BJP tool to disenfranchise minorities, citing missing names from 2002 lists in North 24 Parganas, Nadia, and Cooch Behar. Banerjee referenced suicides linked to SIR fears, including Kakoli Sarkar in Titagarh on October 31, and incidents in Panihati, Dinhata, and Illambazar. The party activated its Booth and Territorial Electoral Review Systems (BERS and TERS) and directed MPs and MLAs to establish war rooms in all 294 constituencies, each with 15 workers for monitoring.
Social media exchanges ensued between TMC and the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office, with TMC alleging deliberate deletions and the CEO citing the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, while seeking district reports. Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court, under Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Smita Das De, admitted a petition on October 31 demanding court-monitored SIR and an extension of the revision timeline. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari criticized TMC's camps as attempts to obstruct BLOs and urged ECI to ensure safety for all agents.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar had announced SIR for 12 states, including West Bengal, on October 27.