Although the Election Commission has not officially confirmed any move, the announcement of SIR in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry has added fuel to speculation that West Bengal may be next
KOLKATA – After the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar — where opposition parties alleged that over six million names, most of them Muslims, were struck off — fear is spreading among the Muslim population of West Bengal. With whispers that the Election Commission may soon introduce a similar SIR in the state, anxiety is mounting in minority-dominated districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, and North Dinajpur.
Although the Election Commission has not officially confirmed any such move, the announcement of SIR in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry has added fuel to speculation that West Bengal may be next.
In Bihar, the SIR process introduced ahead of the assembly elections became a subject of intense political controversy. Opposition parties accused the Election Commission of conducting a flawed and opaque verification process that led to the deletion of millions of Muslim voters.
“The government used SIR as a tool to erase our political voice,” said Abdul Rahman, a resident of Kishanganj. “Entire families found their names missing despite having valid voter IDs and documents. Now we are afraid that Bengal may face the same fate.” The Election Commission has repeatedly denied the allegations, stating that all procedures were conducted transparently. However, the silence over similar fears emerging in other states has raised suspicion.
In Tamil Nadu, the commission’s counsel, Niranjan Rajagopalan, informed the Madras High Court that SIR would commence within a week as part of a national-level initiative. The hearing came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by B Satya Narayan, a former MLA from T Nagar constituency, demanding an accurate and updated voter list.
Rajagopalan assured the court that “all directives of the Supreme Court would be followed in the process.” He also mentioned that the commission had held discussions with Chief Electoral Officers nationwide.
While the move is being justified as an administrative exercise to correct voter lists, critics argue that it could disproportionately affect Muslims and the poor, who often face bureaucratic challenges in proving citizenship or address details.
The timing of the SIR announcement in Tamil Nadu has led many to believe that West Bengal could be next, as both states are due for assembly elections around the same period.
According to Akhbar-e-Mashriq, if polling schedules are to be announced after the completion of SIR, the process must begin soon. The report also mentioned similar speculation in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry, where elections are due in 2026.
When contacted, BJP’s former Bengal President Sukanta Majumdar declined to make a definitive statement but hinted that the SIR would eventually be conducted in the state.
“The Election Commission has said that SIR will be implemented across the country. Naturally, it will be done in all states,” Majumdar said. “Whether it will happen within seven days or later, I cannot say.”
His remarks, though cautious, have done little to ease the fears of Bengal’s 27 percent Muslim population.
The fear surrounding SIR is deeply linked to the experience of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC), where lakhs of Bengali-speaking Muslims were declared “doubtful citizens” and excluded from the final list. Many of them, despite being Indian-born, remain stateless today.
In recent years, Bengali Muslims across the country — particularly in BJP-ruled states — have faced growing suspicion. The case of Sonali Bibi and her 16 family members, who were pushed across the border into Bangladesh by Delhi Police in June last year, remains fresh in memory.
Despite the Delhi High Court’s order to bring them back, the central government has not taken any action. Human rights activists have condemned the move as a “clear violation of constitutional and humanitarian principles.”
Similarly, reports from Assam claim that between 2,500 and 3,000 Muslims were expelled between 2024 and October 2025 based purely on suspicion of being “illegal immigrants.”
For Muslims in Bengal, these events have created an atmosphere of fear and distrust. Many worry that the SIR process could be used to target their community under the guise of administrative correction.
“Every time such an exercise begins, it is the poor Muslim who suffers,” said Nazma Begum, a social worker from Malda. “Our people don’t have proper documents or permanent houses. One spelling mistake or mismatch becomes a reason to delete their names.”
Community leaders and rights activists have urged the Election Commission to release clear guidelines to prevent arbitrary deletions. “If names are struck off unfairly, it is not just a clerical error — it is an attack on democracy,” said Advocate Khalid Anwar, a Kolkata-based lawyer. He added, “The commission must guarantee transparency. Otherwise, millions of citizens, especially Muslims, will lose faith in the system.”
Several human rights organisations have also expressed alarm at the possibility of SIR in Bengal. They argue that without independent monitoring, such revisions could replicate the NRC-like chaos that gripped Assam.
“The SIR must not become another instrument to disenfranchise minorities,” said Anjali Bhattacharya, a member of the Kolkata Civil Rights Forum. “If the Election Commission truly wants clean voter rolls, it should also make public the reasons for deletions, not hide behind administrative secrecy.”
So far, the Election Commission has remained silent on whether West Bengal will undergo SIR. However, with elections just seven months away, pressure is mounting for a clear statement. Political analysts believe that the timing of such a move, if confirmed, will have significant political implications. “The fear among Muslims is genuine,” said Dr Arshad Ali, a political commentator.
“If people lose their names from voter lists right before elections, it will raise serious questions about fairness.” He added, “India’s democracy is built on trust. Once that trust is broken, no election can be truly free or fair.”
As rumours intensify and uncertainty looms, Muslims across Bengal find themselves caught between fear and faith — fearful of losing their right to vote, yet hopeful that democratic institutions will act justly.
The memories of Assam’s NRC and Bihar’s voter list deletions serve as grim reminders of what can happen when administrative exercises intersect with political motives.
For now, the question remains: Will the Election Commission reassure Bengal’s Muslims of their rightful place in democracy, or will SIR become another source of exclusion and pain?
As one elderly man from Murshidabad put it simply, “We have always voted, lived, and worked here. If we are not citizens, then who is?”
