West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday took a swipe at the Election Commission of India during a hearing in the Supreme Court of India, called the poll body “WhatsApp Commission”, alleging large-scale and selective deletion of voters’ names under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Mamata Banerjee claimed that crucial instructions were being issued informally through the messaging platforms such as WhatsApp rather than via official orders. She alleged that the exercise was designed to disenfranchise voters in West Bengal. “The Election Commission… sorry, the WhatsApp Commission… is doing all this. People’s names are being deleted. Bengal is being targeted,” she told the apex court.
In addition, she also claimed that West Bengal was being unfairly singled out. She asked why similar intensive revisions were not being carried out in other states, such as Assam, and alleged political targeting of Bengal. Banerjee further alleged that micro-observers appointed by the Election Commission were being used to facilitate voter deletions.
Addressing the court, the Chief Minister said the SIR was being misused primarily to strike names off the rolls. According to her, women, migrant workers and economically weaker sections were bearing the brunt of the deletions. Questioning the timing of the revision after a gap of 24 years, she pointed to the ongoing harvesting season and alleged that people were being declared dead despite being alive. “Please protect the people’s rights. We are grateful,” she urged the bench.
The “WhatsApp Commission” charge has its origins in a petition filed earlier by the All India Trinamool Congress in the Supreme Court. The party’s parliamentary leader Derek O’Brien alleged that the Election Commission was directing booth-level officers (BLOs) through WhatsApp messages and online meetings, bypassing formal written orders.
According to the petition, state officials had sought clear written directions from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on how to conduct or alter the SIR process. However, instructions circulated through WhatsApp and virtual conferences allegedly advanced deadlines for enumeration, the initial registration of voters, contrary to the published rules. Officials were reportedly asked to mark voters as “absent” even before the official cut-off dates.
Concerns were also raised by the Assistant Programme Officer Welfare Association, West Bengal, which wrote to the CEO on January 6 flagging that instructions were being issued through WhatsApp. Assistant Programme Officers from the Panchayat and Rural Development Department have been assigned duties as Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) for the SIR.
Taking note of the allegations levelled by Mamata Banerjee, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Election Commission, seeking its response by February 10. The court has also directed the West Bengal government to submit a list of Class-II officers for deputation in the revision process. The matter is scheduled to be heard again on Monday.
