The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls faced perhaps its strongest controversy in West Bengal. An investigation by The Indian Express has now revealed that concerns over the way the SIR process was being conducted were also raised from within the poll panel. According to the report, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu questioned the filing of appeals against voters whose names judicial officers had decided should remain on the electoral rolls.
This was one of several issues concerning the SIR exercise that were reportedly raised by the two Election Commissioners over the past 10 months. The Election Commission, however, said that such “differing views” were a normal part of its deliberative process.
The report has triggered a political controversy in Bengal, where the BJP recorded a historic victory in the April elections, ending the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule. Mamata Banerjee has called for repolls in Bengal, while Abhishek Banerjee has demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
WHAT HAS THE REPORT SAID ON BENGAL SIR?
The findings of the Indian Express investigation can be understood by first looking at the figures.
Around 90 lakh voters, or approximately 11.60 per cent of the electorate, were removed following the Bengal SIR. Another 60 lakh voters were sent for adjudication because of what were described as “logical discrepancies”. After judicial officers examined these cases, around 32.68 lakh voters were deemed eligible, while orders were issued to delete approximately 27.16 lakh names.
Last week, the Election Commission informed the Supreme Court that 38 lakh appeals were pending before the tribunals. Of these, 22.21 lakh appeals had been filed by voters whose names were deleted and who were seeking their restoration.
The remaining 16.10 lakh appeals are significant because they were filed against voters whose names had been retained by judicial officers for inclusion in the electoral rolls. These appeals sought the deletion of those voters' names.
The Election Commission did not specify who had filed the 16.10 lakh appeals. According to the Express report, this was one of the matters questioned by Election Commissioner Sandhu.
In August, Sandhu wrote to ECI officials asking who had been authorised to submit the appeals on behalf of the poll panel. In a note reviewed by Express, he stated that neither Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi nor the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer had been informed that the appeals were being filed.
“Who was authorised to file these appeals on behalf of ECI, and by whom?” Sandhu asked. He also questioned, “Who actually filed these appeals on behalf of ECI?”
The Express report said these objections were also sent to CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
WHY THIS MATTERS?
The matter assumes importance because the Election Commission's 'Transaction of Business Rules' stress the principle of unanimity in decision-making. In effect, significant decisions of the three-member poll panel are expected to be taken collectively.
Sandhu's note suggests that the Election Commissioners were not informed about the filing of these appeals.
WHAT IS THE ROW OVER ECI'S VOTER SOFTWARE?
Another major concern highlighted in the Express investigation relates to state-level election officials' access to the poll panel's ERONET software. ERONET is part of the ECI's broader ECINet platform, which was launched in January with the aim of bringing multiple election-related portals under one system.
The software enables state Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to add or remove voter names and modify electoral records. According to the report, the two Election Commissioners raised complaints in May from EROs who said their access to the portal had been restricted.
The portal is supervised by Election Commission Director General of IT Seema Khanna. Sandhu raised the matter again in August, stating in a note that Khanna “doesn't have any legal authority to restrict complete access” for EROs.
Mamata Banerjee camp MP Mahua Moitra claimed that she had raised the same issue with the Bengal chief electoral officer on four occasions.
“During Bengal SIR process, we met Chief Electoral Officer at least 4 times to highlight how Seema Khanna's centralised software restricted ground-level ERONet access and changed data at will. Now, we find 2 Election Commissioners said exactly what we did!” Moitra posted on X.
She further alleged that Khanna, with the assistance of Gyanesh Kumar, used the software to centrally add, delete and alter voter names and electoral lists while bypassing ground-level officials who had ERONET logins in Bengal.
The ECI did not directly respond to the specific allegations but said platforms such as ECINet function under “strict data security protocols” designed to prevent “unauthorised tampering and manipulation”.
DID THE SIR IMPACT BENGAL ELECTIONS?
There is no evidence establishing that the SIR exercise influenced the outcome of the Bengal Assembly election. However, the Mamata Banerjee camp has repeatedly alleged that errors in the SIR process resulted in the disenfranchisement of several voters who supported the party.
According to the data, SIR-related deletions exceeded the winning margin in 49 of the state's 294 constituencies. These constituencies were divided between the BJP and the undivided TMC, with the BJP winning 26 and the TMC securing 21.
Reacting strongly to the Express report, Mamata Banerjee demanded that CEC Gyanesh Kumar be arrested.
“They cannot depute their own EROs in the name of the BJP IT Team... This Election Commissioner must be arrested,” Mamata said. She also called for the Bengal election to be held again.
Her nephew and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee demanded a court-monitored investigation.
“Disenfranchising lakhs of voters to allegedly benefit one political party strikes at the very foundation of our democracy. Those responsible must be held accountable,” Abhishek posted on X.
“The Supreme Court cannot look away. The buck stops there. Will the CJI-led Bench act?” he added.
BJP MP Sambit Patra rejected the allegation from the Mamata camp that voter deletions during the SIR helped the BJP win the Bengal election.
“The highest number of voters were deleted in 20 seats. Of which, the TMC won 13, and the BJP won six. If we won through 'vote chori', then how did we lose more than half of the seats?” Patra said.
