TMC, BJP Clash Over SIR Issue at Bengal All-Party Meeting

Speedy Summary

• an all-party meeting was convened by teh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal to discuss the rationalisation of polling booths.
• The focus was on reducing voters per polling station from 1,500 to 1,200, leading to an increase in polling booths from 80,000 to 95,000.
• A spat broke out when discussions extended into the Special Intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• The Trinamool Congress (TMC) opposed the SIR initiative, calling it politically motivated and not part of the agenda. TMC leader Aroop Biswas stated it would not be implemented in West Bengal.
• BJP leader Shishir Bajoria claimed that TMC fears SIR because it could eliminate fake or dead voters from rolls.
• Congress leaders also opposed SIR through placards with anti-SIR slogans at the meeting.
• Despite disagreements over SIR, political parties generally agreed on booth rationalisation with some caveats. TMC emphasized that new booths should be within existing premises and locally accessible.

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