On Saturday, Samik Bhattacharya, West Bengal BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP, called for a new Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls after claiming the last round was marred by violence and obstruction.
He alleged that during the previous SIR under the TMC government, documents were snatched from voters, set on fire, and election officers were physically attacked.
Bhattacharya further said that Block Development Officers, anganwadi workers and BJP Booth Level Agents were targeted, and that offices of the commission were set ablaze.
He criticized the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, suggesting that instead of being accused of “vote chori”, the former should be rewarded for transparency.
Bhattacharya warned that the current agitation, he said, was driven by “politically irrelevant forces” and that mobocracy could never replace democracy.
The Election Commission has not yet responded to the demand and will likely convene a committee to examine the allegations before deciding on a new revision.