Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday shot off a sharply worded letter to chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar demanding an immediate halt to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bengal.

The chief minister, who claims the tremendous work pressure brought on by the SIR drive has claimed 28 lives in Bengal, described the exercise as “structurally unsound”, “chaotic”, “coercive” and “dangerous”, warning that continuing it would inflict irreversible damage on the electoral system.

“...Kindly intervene decisively to halt the ongoing exercise, stop coercive measures, provide proper training and support, and thoroughly reassess the present methodology and timelines,” Mamata wrote in the three-page letter.

“(Otherwise) the consequences for the system, the officials, and the citizens will be irreversible. This intervention is not only necessary but imperative to protect the integrity of electoral process and our democratic framework,” she added. “This is a moment that demands responsibility, humanity, and decisive corrective action. I trust you will act accordingly and without delay.”

Later in the day, leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari wrote to Kumar, claiming that Mamata had sent a “misleading” and “politically motivated” letter to him in a bid to protect the illegal voters in the electoral rolls and urged him to conduct the SIR appropriately to end Trinamool’s “Jungle Raj”.

Mamata has been one of the loudest voices of resistance to the “exclusionary, opaque” exercise since it was conceived for Bihar by the Election Commission.

On Thursday, the Trinamool Congress chief told Kumar, whom she and several others in the Opposition have labelled a political yes-man of the BJP establishment at the Centre, that she was compelled to write to him as the situation had reached a “deeply alarming stage”.

Mamata wrote: “The manner in which this exercise is being forced upon officials and citizens is not only unplanned and chaotic, but also dangerous. The absence of even basic preparedness, adequate planning or clear communication has crippled the process from day one. Critical gaps in training, lack of clarity on mandatory documentation and the near-impossibility of meeting voters in the midst of their livelihood schedules have made the exercisestructurally unsound.”

Expressing her appreciation of the strenuous efforts by the booth-level officers (BLOs) in the pressing circumstances while handling huge workloads, she wrote: “However, it cannot be denied that the BLOs have not been provided adequate training, support and time required for undertaking a mammoth exercise of this nature. The unrealistic workload, impossible timelines, and inadequate support with online data entry have collectively placed the entire process-and its credibility at severe risk.

“This strikes at the heart of our electoral democracy. BLOs are now operating far beyond human limits. They are expected to manage their principal duties (many being teachers and frontline workers) while simultaneously conducting door-to-door surveys and handling complex e-submissions. Most are struggling with online forms due to lack of training, server failures, and repeated data mismatches,” she added, a day after the death of another BLO in Bengal allegedly because of work pressure.

Mamata drew attention to the suicide in the letter, underscoring the loss of lives allegedly on account of the SIR and asserting that the revision, which required three years in the past, was now being forcibly compressed into three months. This, she said, was subjecting officials to inhuman working conditions and forcing common people under the shadow of fearand uncertainty.

She said the timing of the exercise was equally indefensible as it coincided with the peak paddy harvest season that is to continue till mid-December, and the sowing of the rabi crop, which too is a strictly time-bound activity. Lakhs of farmers and labourers are busy with agricultural work and cannot be expected to abandon their fields to participate in the SIR, Mamata said.

The chief minister alleged that at this pace, it was all but certain that by December 4 electoral data across multiple constituencies cannot be uploaded while at the same time maintaining the required level of accuracy.

Mamata stressed that it was even more worrisome that many BLOs, under extreme pressure and fear of punitive action, were being pushed to submit incorrect or incomplete entries, risking the disenfranchisement of genuine electors and eroding the integrity of the electoral rolls.

“What is particularly unacceptable is the response from the Election Commission at this juncture. Instead of offering support, extending timelines, or addressing systemic flaws, the office of CEO West Bengal has resorted to intimidation. Show-cause notices are being issued without justification. BLOs, already stretched and distressed, are being threatened with severe disciplinary action simply because the Commission refuses to acknowledge the reality on the ground,” she alleged.

Mamata has repeatedly accused chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal of playing a dubious role since assuming office.