A delegation of the Trinamool Congress on Monday (July 1, 2025) urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to adopt 2024 as the base year for any revision of the electoral rolls. The delegation met the Commission against the backdrop of its decision to undertake a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar, a process the panel has said will eventually be extended to all States.

West Bengal is scheduled to go to elections in 2026.

“The voters enrolled till 2024 should remain irrespective of any condition,” Trinamool MP and party Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, Kalyan Banerjee, told presspersons after the meeting.

Mr. Banerjee said that while the ECI stated its objective behind the SIR is to ensure that “no voter is left behind,” certain recent circulars reflect an approach of “eligibility first and inclusion later”.

He said the party raised concerns over the requirement of birth certificates for verification. “They [ECI] said those who already are voters will remain voters. If any inclusion is made after this, it will be based on evidence,” Mr. Banerjee said.

The Trinamool delegation also flagged what it termed the arbitrary inclusion of large numbers of voters in electoral rolls just ahead of elections, citing examples from Haryana and Delhi. “Only new voters between 18 and 21 years of age should be added ahead of the polls. But how can people aged 50–60 suddenly be part of the bulk voter list? And how can the number of new inclusions rise to 40,000?” Mr. Banerjee asked.

The party also expressed concern about the delayed release of voter turnout data.

West Bengal Minister and MLA Firhad Hakim, who was part of the delegation, raised the issue of central forces allegedly entering polling booths and influencing voters.

“We proposed to them that if central forces are there, State police should also be present inside the booth. No forces should enter the area where polling is done inside the booths,” Mr. Hakim said.