People gather to appeal before a tribunal over issues related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, at Alipore, in Kolkata.
| Photo Credit: PTI

What began as an exercise aimed at cleaning up electoral rolls, by removing duplicate, migrated, and deceased voters, and identifying “illegal immigrants”, has turned into a major controversy in West Bengal.

The Election Commission of India (ECI)’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been conducted in 13 States and Union Territories so far. However, it is in West Bengal that terms such as ‘adjudication’, ‘logical discrepancies’ and ‘voter tribunals’ have cropped up. The SIR process has also led to a “trust deficit” between the ECI, a constitutional body, and the elected Trinamool Congress government, according to the Supreme Court.

Published – April 12, 2026 06:49 am IST