With the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to begin on Tuesday, as announced by the Election Commission, political parties have geared up for action.

Booth-level agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties will play a crucial role in the SIR process, ensuring the deletion of names of illegal voters and preventing genuine voters from being excluded. The BLAs can visit doorsteps with the EC-appointed booth-level officers (BLOs), who will start distributing enumeration forms from November 4. The Telegraph spoke with leaders of Bengal’s major political parties to understand their SIR-preparedness

Trinamool Congress

The ruling party of Bengal began preparations for the SIR in August this year. During a virtual meeting with around 9,000 party leaders, the party’s national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, instructed them on how to gear up for the SIR and select BLAs. Trinamool has selected BLAs for all 81,000 booths. The party has conducted a round of training sessions for them on their role at every doorstep. BLAs apart, the party has selected at least 10 active workers per booth to identify new and eligible voters whose names were not in the 2022 electoral rolls.

A source said that party workers will visit every home to ensure no genuine voter’s name is struck off. They have been instructed to report any anomalies, suspicious entries or deletions once the draft roll is published. "Our workers will ensure no person is harassed in the name of the SIR,” said a senior Trinamool leader. Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty said: “We have the organisational strength to appoint 10 BLAs at every booth. If anomalies are reported, we will protest democratically.”

BJP

The main Opposition party in Bengal, the BJP, is most enthusiastic about the SIR. BJP leaders have repeatedly said in public that their main goal during the SIR is to ensure that not a single name of illegal voters — including Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants — remains on the electoral roll. The BJP believes that the SIR is the “semi-final” before next year’s Assembly elections, claiming that at least one crore fake, illegal, dead, or shifted voters’ names would be deleted from the rolls in Bengal if the process is carried out properly. However, party leaders have admitted that they can't appoint BLAs in all 81,000 booths as the BJP lacks organisational strength in around 15,000 polling booths, mostly in minority-dominated areas. They have focused their efforts on 65,000 booths.

“We are fully prepared for the SIR, which is essential to cleanse Bengal’s electoral rolls. Everyone knows the areas where we can't appoint our people. However, we are maintaining direct and indirect vigilance on every booth in Bengal,” said BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya.

The BJP has been closely monitoring profiles of the BLOs to find whether they are connected with Trinamool. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has flagged some such BLO names on social media, demanding their removal.

CPM

The CPM leadership said they had so far appointed BLAs in 60–65 per cent of booths across Bengal. In areas where the party has a stronger organisation, BLAs have been appointed in up to 80 per cent of booths. A senior party leader said that apart from urban areas, their main focus is to ensure BLA deployment in rural pockets, which are believed to be vulnerable. The party believes that while the Trinamool may try to retain names of illegal voters, the BJP may try to delete genuine voters — especially those unlikely to vote for them.

“Trinamool should not assume that there will be no Opposition BLAs in minority pockets,” said a CPM leader.

CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the party would deploy BLAs in every booth across the state within a few days, before the BLOs start distributing enumeration forms from November 4."

Within hours of the EC announcing the SIR, the CPM in several areas opened "Vote Adhikar Raksha Kendras especially for migrant workers, tribals and minorities.

Congress

Party leaders said they had drawn lessons from their work during the SIR process in Bihar. The party’s SIR committee chairperson, Prasenjit Bose, travelled to Bihar to understand its impact. A senior Congress leader said the party would not disclose the exact number of BLAs appointed so far. He added that the party believes the real need for BLAs will arise toward November-end, when preparation of draft electoral roll begins. State Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said: "The Congress will take political and legal steps to safeguard the right to vote and citizenship."