The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued a point-by-point rebuttal of “baseless allegations” leveled by a delegation of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) during a meeting in New Delhi, the poll panel said.
The Commission told the delegation to submit any claims or objections after 9 December, when the draft electoral roll will be published, and cautioned them against interfering with the independent functioning of Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and District Election Officers (DEOs) — all state government employees on deputation.
In a series of directives issued on the same day, the ECI wrote to the Director General of Police, West Bengal, and the Kolkata Police Commissioner, demanding “that BLOs are not pressured or threatened by political party workers”. It also instructed all DEOs in the state to set up new polling stations in slums, high-rise buildings and gated residential colonies — in line with nationwide guidelines.
The recent security breach at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal prompted the ECI to order relocation of the office to a more secure site. The Commission directed the Kolkata Police Commissioner to provide “complete security” for both the existing and new CEO premises.
“The ECI has taken a serious view of the security lapse and has directed that adequate security classification be done on account of the sensitivity involved due to SIR activities and forthcoming elections in the state,” read the letter to police authorities.
During the meeting, the ECI explicitly told the AITC delegation not to influence or threaten BLOs concerning “dead, shifted and duplicate voters” and reiterated that only Indian citizens are entitled to vote under Article 326 of the Constitution.
“We provided a detailed, point-wise rebuttal of all apprehensions raised by the AITC delegation and asked them to raise claims after the draft list is released on 9 December,” an Election Commission official said.
“The Commission has directed that BLOs must be allowed to work without intimidation from any quarter,” the official added.
“Only Indian citizens are eligible to vote as per Article 326 of the Constitution; foreigners have no voting rights,” the TMC delegation was told according to the official.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — currently underway in 12 states including West Bengal — involves door-to-door verification by BLOs to update voter lists ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. The process has been contentious, with the AITC alleging “unplanned and coercive” implementation and citing alleged deaths of BLOs linked to workload.