Politics over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls continued to heat up across North Bengal on Monday, with protests, counter-attacks and competing political narratives unfolding simultaneously across districts.
While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been staging demonstrations in Kolkata alleging large-scale irregularities in the revision exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI), North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha launched a protest in his Assembly constituency in Dinhata, Cooch Behar, observing a fast to register his protest against the alleged discrepancies in the voter list.
The issue also saw mobilisation at the grassroots level. Hundreds of people belonging to the Nashya Sheikh community submitted a representation to the Cooch Behar District Magistrate on Monday, seeking intervention and drawing the attention of the Election Commission. Their move coincided with a series of meetings being held in Kolkata by the Chief Election Commissioner and senior officials with political parties and administrative authorities regarding the ongoing revision process.
The Opposition, however, dismissed the protests as politically motivated. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, during his visit to North Bengal, launched a sharp attack on the ruling party and targeted Mr Guha in particular.
“Udayan Guha has already lost his vote bank after nearly 37,000 voters’ names have come under the scanner during the revision exercise,” Mr Adhikari alleged. Referring to the 2021 Assembly election in which Union minister Nisith Pramanik defeated Mr Guha, he added: “He was defeated in 2021 and in 2026 even a BJP booth president will be able to defeat him.”
Political activity intensified simultaneously across several districts of North Bengal. In Cooch Behar, the Trinamul Congress district leadership organised a religious programme and offered prayers to Lord Shiva, a move that observers say reflects the party’s efforts to consolidate its support base amid a shifting political landscape.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Malda district, Trinamul Congress leaders and workers organised a bike rally celebrating the rollout of the state government’s new youth welfare initiative, the Yuba Sathi scheme. During the rally, party workers claimed that the state government had begun disbursing financial assistance to unemployed youths, with beneficiaries already receiving the allowance directly in their bank accounts.
The initiative, however, drew strong criticism from the Opposition. Addressing a BJP party programme at Gazole in Malda, Mr Adhikari described the unemployment allowance as an attempt to influence voters ahead of the elections.
“This is nothing but a bribe to buy votes from unemployed youths,” he alleged, accusing the state government of trying to sway the electorate through financial incentives.
Mr Adhikari also urged young voters to accept the allowance if they were eligible but vote for the BJP during the elections. “Take the money if it comes to your bank account, but cast your vote for the lotus symbol,” he said.
The BJP leader further promised that if the party comes to power in West Bengal, it would introduce a scheme similar to a central government programme that would provide financial assistance of up to Rs 80,000 to households for installing solar panels to generate electricity.