The release of West Bengal’s draft voter list following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has set off a fresh political controversy, with 58 lakh names found missing from the rolls. The development comes months ahead of the Assembly elections and has sharpened the ongoing debate between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP.

According to the draft list, 24 lakh voters have been marked as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing and around 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The exercise aims to eliminate duplication and errors from the electoral database and marks the completion of the first phase of SIR, which was last conducted in the state in 2002.

Objection window opens, final list due in February

With the draft list now published, voters whose names have been excluded can file objections and seek corrections. The Election Commission is expected to address these claims before releasing the final voter list in February next year. The announcement of the West Bengal Assembly elections is likely only after the final list is made public.

Trinamool calls deletions injustice, sets up help booths

The Trinamool Congress has strongly objected to the scale of deletions. Party MP Saugata Roy described the removal of 58 lakh names as an injustice and alleged that legitimate voters were being targeted. He said the party has set up voter assistance booths to help people submit forms for re-inclusion of their names.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also opposed the SIR exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to strike off the names of eligible voters ahead of the polls. At a recent rally in Krishnanagar, she urged people to protest if their names were deleted from the rolls.

BJP defends SIR, targets Trinamool vote bank claims

The BJP has defended the revision exercise, accusing the Trinamool Congress of trying to shield illegal and fake voters. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari claimed the Chief Minister’s opposition stemmed from fears of losing power as deceased, duplicate and illegal names were being removed from the voter list.

Earlier, Trinamool had also targeted the Election Commission over reports of Booth Level Officers facing extreme work pressure during the exercise. With the draft list now out, the political confrontation over SIR is expected to intensify further in the run-up to the elections.

A major road accident on the Delhi-Agra Expressway, also known as the Yamuna Expressway, claimed at least four lives and left 25 people injured in Mathura on Tuesday morning after multiple vehicles rammed into each other amid dense fog.

According to officials, the accident involved seven buses and three cars that collided due to extremely poor visibility. The impact of the crash led to several vehicles catching fire, creating panic among passengers stranded on the highway.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar confirmed that search and rescue operations at the site were nearly complete. He said emergency teams from the fire department, police and district administration were rushed to the spot soon after the accident was reported.

“Dense fog severely reduced visibility, which caused the collision between multiple buses and cars. Some vehicles caught fire following the impact,” Kumar told reporters, adding that four fatalities had been confirmed so far.

He said around 25 injured people were taken to hospitals, including community health centres and the district hospital. Officials clarified that none of the injured were in critical condition and all were receiving medical care. Arrangements were also being made to transport stranded passengers to their destinations using government vehicles.

Administration focuses on relief, investigation later

Mathura District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh described the incident as unfortunate and said the immediate priority was relief and medical assistance. He stated that more than a dozen fire tenders and over 14 ambulances were deployed to manage the situation.

“The bodies of the deceased have been recovered and the injured have been admitted to hospitals. All those injured are reported to be out of danger,” Singh said, adding that the cause of the accident would be examined after relief operations are fully completed.

The accident comes a day after another fog-related multi-vehicle crash on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, where low visibility led to a deadly pile-up involving several vehicles.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor met in Delhi last week, days after the Bihar Assembly election delivered a setback to both political outfits, sources said. The meeting reportedly took place at Sonia Gandhi’s 10, Janpath residence and lasted several hours.

While the interaction has triggered political speculation, both leaders have publicly played down any significance. When asked about the meeting, Priyanka Gandhi said there was little interest in who she meets or does not meet. Prashant Kishor, on the other hand, denied that any such meeting had taken place

Bihar rout brings renewed focus on opposition strategy

The reported interaction followed disappointing election outcomes in Bihar. Jan Suraaj contested 238 Assembly seats but failed to secure a single win, while the Congress managed only six victories out of the 61 seats it contested, a drop of 13 seats compared to the previous election

Sources familiar with the developments indicated that the poor showing by both sides has reopened conversations about future political strategy, especially with several major state elections scheduled over the next two years

A relationship marked by past cooperation and friction

Prashant Kishor has previously worked with the Congress, with mixed outcomes. In 2017, he played a key role in the Congress’s victory in Punjab, but the same year saw the party suffer defeat in Uttar Pradesh. The contrasting results led to internal disagreements, with some party leaders later questioning Kishor’s approach and influence

Talks of Kishor formally joining the Congress resurfaced ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh election, with discussions involving senior party leaders. However, those negotiations collapsed amid differences over organisational reforms and decision-making authority. Kishor later described his experience with the party as unsatisfactory and ruled out joining it, citing resistance to structural change

Jan Suraaj’s debut and future calculations

After parting ways with the Congress, Kishor launched Jan Suraaj with the aim of reshaping Bihar’s political discourse. Despite claims that the party shifted focus from caste-based politics to employment issues, its electoral debut failed to translate into votes

Sources suggest that recent defeats across the opposition spectrum have prompted fresh assessments ahead of upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam in 2026, followed by Uttar Pradesh in 2027. The longer-term focus remains the 2029 Lok Sabha election, where the ruling party is expected to seek another term