West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, raising serious concerns about two recent Election Commission decisions amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
In her letter, Banerjee flags the Commission’s move to outsource data work, questioning the need to hire 1,000 data entry operators and 50 software developers on long-term contracts when district election offices already have staff capable of handling the workload. She points out that the State CEO had earlier instructed DEOs not to engage contractual data-entry operators or Bangla Sahayata Kendra (BSK) workers for SIR or other election-related data tasks.
Banerjee argues that this centralised Request for Proposal (RFP) raises “serious concerns.”
“Is this exercise being undertaken at the behest of a political party to serve vested interests?” CM Banerjee questioned.
Mamata Banerjee further asked, “When district offices already have a substantial number of competent professionals performing such functions, what necessitates the CEO’s initiative to outsource the same work through external agencies for a full year…if there is an urgent need, DEOs are fully empowered to undertake such hiring themselves.”
Beyond staffing, she also strongly opposes a proposal to set up polling stations inside private residential complexes. According to her, locating booths in such gated societies risks undermining fairness and neutrality, saying it introduces a “discriminatory distinction between privileged residents and the general public.” She insists that polling stations should continue to be placed in government or semi-government institutions, accessible to all.
“It has been further brought to my attention that the Election Commission is considering setting up polling stations within private residential complexes, and DEOs have to asked to provide recommendations,” she mentioned.
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Banerjee warns that these moves could severely damage the credibility of the SIR exercise. She calls for the CEC’s “utmost seriousness, impartiality and transparency” in investigating these decisions.
“Why? Why? Why? The implications of such decision would have severe impact on the fairness of the electoral process,” she wrote.
In her previous letter to the Election Commission of India, CM Mamata Banerjee raised question about the fundamental flaws in the SIR process. In a separate communication on November 20, she described SIR as “unplanned, coercive and dangerous,” citing poor training, server issues, and an unrealistic timeline that she says risks disenfranchising voters. Banerjee’s intervention comes amid growing political tension in West Bengal over the SIR — especially after reports of multiple BLOs dying by suicide due to the pressures of this voter-roll revision.
She has urged the Election Commission to rethink its approach, extend proper support to BLOs, and ensure that the revision process upholds democratic principles rather than advancing partisan interests.
