Mamata Banerjee’s Non-Cooperative Attitude towards SIR

Poonam Sharma
The unabated turmoil around the SIR process in West Bengal has blown out into an all-out constitutional confrontation, far from being a routine bureaucratic exercise. It opens an uncomfortable yet essential debate related to governance, electoral integrity, and political accountability. With increased scrutiny and new revelations, the state seems caught in a trap of inflated voter lists, political intimidation, and a reluctant government that does not cooperate with the Election Commission.

This crisis is rooted in the non-cooperation attitude that has marked the stand of the Government of Bengal. The BJP alleged an “organised design” behind the anomalies, while the TMC keeps shifting the blame to what it terms “technical faults” by the Election Commission. However, the scale of irregularities that SIR is discovering appears to be deeper than technocratic lapses.

A System Under Strain: How SIR Exposed Shocking Discrepancies

While it has succeeded already in Bihar-wherein no political party opposed the SIR process-it is receiving unprecedented pushback in Bengal. And yet, the data emerging from the field tells its own alarming story.

The case of Mayarani Goswami, 70, whose name appeared 44 times in different voter lists in Durgapur, was a shock even to seasoned officials. This could have been labeled clerical oversight if this was an isolated mistake. But the revision drive is replete with equally bizarre discoveries – ten fathers listed for a single son, thousands of missing persons who continued to be active voters, and long-dead people resurrected year after year in the rolls.

These are not “technical glitches.” They are signs of a system that has been systematically hollowed out.

More disturbingly, the Election Commission flagged cases where BLOs themselves were threatened. One Maulana was reportedly arrested after threatening Deepak Mahato and demanding the incorporation of missing persons into the list. That such intimidation made its way into mainstream reporting and that the accused even appeared before the media indicates how emboldened the networks behind voter manipulation have become.

A Political Strategy or Administrative Breakdown?

But the gravest accusation, repeated by the opposition, is that these anomalies are not accidental but curated for political purposes. According to their argument, inflated lists, illegal voters, and cross-border infiltration result in an artificial electorate, which would directly benefit the ruling party in the context of a tight electoral environment.

This has only heightened suspicion as the sharp spike in voter numbers in Uttar Dinajpur seems to fly in the face of natural demographic patterns. Meanwhile, the news of fleeing Bangladeshis as detention camp preparations get underway in Uttar Pradesh brings a cross-border dimension into the debate-a particularly sensitive aspect for Bengal’s ruling dispensation.

If illegal residents fear the documentation purge, then the SIR process undermines long-nurtured vote banks. This hypothesis, whether it is correct or exaggerated, explains the political panic surrounding the revision exercise.

Mamata Banerjee’s Confrontational Politics

Instead of strengthening the electoral process, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has chosen confrontation. Her gherao of the Election Commission, public verbal attacks on constitutional bodies, and her party’s obstructions of SIR teams on the ground indicate a mindset that sees institutional checks as political threats.

The irony is not lost. The very same exercise was carried out without incident in Bihar and found appreciation across parties. Bengal has, however, converted a technical clean-up exercise into full-scale battle.

The legal strategy of the TMC leadership also appears to weaken. Having lost the legal battle, they have started depending upon political street pressure – blocking the BLOs, crowding the revision centres, and questioning every corrective step the Commission undertakes. This not only obstructs SIR but undermines the democratic credibility of the state.

The Case for Paramilitary Support

Given the extent of intimidation, the presence of paramilitary forces is no longer a demand but a necessity. Only neutral forces can ensure that the process goes on uninterruptedly when the administrative machinery of a state gets overpowered by partisan networks.

The BJP leaders said in many districts, the TMC-backed groups were not allowing genuine voters to file forms and were threatening those who exposed fraud. Till now, more than 60 per cent of the forms have been submitted, but reports from the field indicate that unless security is significantly strengthened, the remaining process might be compromised.

What is at Stake: Democracy Itself

In the end, the problem is larger than party politics. Faulty voter lists translate into dilution of citizenship. Illegal voters being added while poor, genuine citizens are kept out erode the very foundation of electoral democracy.

The SIR is not just an administrative checklist; it’s a litmus test of West Bengal’s commitment to clean and fair elections. A state that once prided itself on fierce political awareness now finds itself under the shadow of manipulated lists, cross-border irregularities, and state-sponsored obstruction.

If left unchecked, Bengal does indeed run the risk of being a cautionary tale in the democratic story of India.

A Moment for Judicial Clarity Many believe that the stand of the Supreme Court is going to be firm. The judiciary cannot offer political indulgence when a constitutional body attempts to cleanse the voter roll and the State government openly obstructs it. Legal observers anticipate that the Court is going to sustain the authority of the Commission in view of the pattern of non-cooperation exhibited by the TMC government. Conclusion: Bengal at a Crossroads The SIR crisis underlines an essential fact about governance in West Bengal: a government that is afraid of scrutiny is afraid of democracy per se. The non-cooperation by Mamata Banerjee-administrative reluctance, legal failures, and street mobilization-paints a picture of a leadership cornered by its political dependencies. Success or failure of the SIR will thus determine whether Bengal’s elections are credible in the future. The state today stands at a crossroad, and every direction taken will determine the shape of its democratic soul for years to come.