Kolkata, Nov 30 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress on Sunday said that the Election Commission's decision to extend by one week the entire schedule of the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls vindicated its stand that the process was "ill-conceived" and "hasty".
The West Bengal BJP said it was the discretion of the EC and asserted that the poll panel was determined to effectively roll out the SIR, retaining the names of every bona fide citizen and deleting names of unauthorised persons who have been staying in the country illegally.
In a statement issued earlier in the day in New Delhi, the EC said the enumeration form distribution will now continue till December 11 instead of December 4. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 16 in place of December 9, while the final voters' list will be out on February 14, 2026, in place of February 7.
The EC extended the SIR schedules by one week in nine states and three Union Territories amid allegations by opposition parties that the "tight timelines" were creating problems for people and ground-level poll officials.
Senior TMC leader Joyprakash Majumdar told reporters that the EC's announcement reflected how the entire exercise had been announced in a "hasty manner" without proper groundwork planning "just to cater to the interest of the ruling party at the Centre, the BJP."
At least 40 people, including four BLOs, lost their lives due to stress related to the special intensive revision (SIR) in West Bengal in the past one month, and this shows the SIR was announced in an ill-conceived manner, Majumdar claimed.
Union minister and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar said the decision was purely within the discretion of the EC, as the poll panel should be the best judge about the schedule.
"It is a procedural step by the EC to roll out the SIR exercise in a foolproof manner. The TMC wants to stall the SIR as it seeks to win by the votes of infiltrators. The skeletons in the TMC cupboard have already tumbled out following the EC's move," the former state BJP president said.
The state Congress questioned why the SIR process was extended by only seven days, and demanded clarity on why the extension was not set for a month.
West Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar alleged that Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was acting in haste.
Sarkar said, "We are not against the SIR, but if it is done to help the BJP, then the Indian National Congress will certainly protest... Why only seven days? Why not one month? Why is Gyanesh Kumar rushing with the SIR to help the BJP?"
He emphasised that the Congress seeks transparency and neutrality in the Commission's proceedings and warned that any perceived political bias would provoke strong opposition from the party.
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty alleged that the BJP and the TMC have gone entered into a tacit understanding over the SIR exercise, and that the allegations levelled by the state's ruling party are only its public postures posturing.
"Is it a mockery that SIR has been extended only by a week. Neither the BJP nor TMC are serious about stalling SIR exercise. The poor citizens are facing the brunt and afraid of disenfranchisement. The EC is unresponsive," Chakraborty said.
Officials said the EC took the decision to extend the timeline for all phases of the SIR based on internal discussions with chief electoral officers of states and UTs where the exercise is underway.