Fri Aug 01 18:32:28 UTC 2025: Here’s a summarized news article based on the provided text:

**Headline: West Bengal Erupts in Voter List Controversy: BJP Accuses TMC of Inflating Rolls with Illegal Immigrants**

**KOLKATA – August 2, 2025** – A fierce political battle is brewing in West Bengal over the potential implementation of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of manipulating voter rolls, alleging the inclusion of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to bolster their vote bank.

BJP Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, has made explosive claims, stating that certain polling booths with entirely Hindu populations now inexplicably contain Muslim voters who are not Indian citizens. He further alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is intimidating booth-level officers (BLOs) and attempting to interfere with their training and appointments in connection with the SIR.

The BJP alleges Banerjee scolded BLO’s going to Delhi for training and ordered that no steps should be taken without permission. They also said Chief Secretary Manoj Pant instructed District Magistrates to replace BLO’s trained in Delhi.

The TMC, on the other hand, claims the SIR is a covert attempt by the BJP to implement a National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the backdoor, potentially disenfranchising legitimate voters. TMC leaders are urging citizens to protest if they are unfairly removed from the voter lists. They say the Election Commission and BJP are attempting to suppress voters, because if people are allowed to vote freely, they will be defeated.

The controversy centers around the nationwide SIR initiative, which requires voters to prove their eligibility. While the Election Commission insists the SIR is a routine process, opposition parties fear it could lead to widespread disenfranchisement. The recent release of the 2002 SIR electoral roll has fueled speculation that West Bengal could conduct a similar exercise ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, intensifying the political tensions between the BJP and the TMC. Trinamool MP’s agitated against the SIR in Bihar, which they called “silent invisible rigging.”

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