Mamata Banerjee in Delhi for CEC Meeting on Electoral Rolls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived in New Delhi on Sunday to lead a delegation in discussions with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in her state. The meeting, scheduled for Monday afternoon at the Election Commission headquarters, involves a 15-member team from the Trinamool Congress, including party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Banerjee has raised multiple objections to the SIR process, which is underway nationwide in 12 states and union territories ahead of the final publication of electoral rolls on February 7. In a series of letters to Kumar, including one sent on Saturday, she argued that the exercise in West Bengal deviates from provisions in the Representation of the People Act and related rules. She specifically criticized the deployment of approximately 8,100 microobservers and special roll observers, claiming they were appointed unilaterally without adequate training or statutory backing. According to Banerjee, these observers have been given authority to approve decisions, sidelining electoral registration officers and undermining the quasi-judicial...