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New Delhi: The political atmosphere in West Bengal intensified this Saturday as the Election Commission of India (ECI) moved swiftly to dismantle allegations of voter harassment and "targeted deletions" made by a senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader.
Claims of family targeting
The controversy erupted when Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the TMC’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, alleged that the ECI was harassing her family members during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Dastidar claimed that the names of four relatives, her mother Ira Mitra, her sister Piyali Mitra, and her two sons, Biswanath and Baidyanath, were missing from the draft electoral rolls published after the SIR enumeration.
Dastidar framed the summons as a "political targeting" exercise, asserting that her family was ready to provide any necessary documentation but questioning the intent behind the move.
The ECI counterstrike: "Misleading allegations"
The poll panel issued a firm response, labelling Dastidar’s claims as "misleading." According to the ECI records from the SIR process in West Bengal show that the family members in question are still on the rolls and have not been deleted. The individuals were summoned for hearings strictly according to established SIR notifications, said the poll panel
Local Booth Level Officer (BLO) Kapil Ananda Haldar clarified that hearings are a standard procedure to fix discrepancies or corrections in forms, not a prelude to deletion.
Upcoming hearing dates
Piyali Mitra: Scheduled for December 31.
Ira Mitra: Scheduled for January 8 (requested to bring supporting documents).
A war of words: TMC vs BJP
The incident has triggered a broader political confrontation between the TMC and the BJP. The TMC’s State Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya led a party delegation to meet Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal, accusing the ECI of exceeding its mandate and attempting to disenfranchise a large number of voters.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar supported the Commission, stating it was merely performing its constitutional duty to ensure a "clean and accurate" list. He alleged that the TMC's outcry stems from a fear of losing "fake or illegal" voters who bolster their electoral numbers.
