Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday intensified his attack on the Election Commission and the BJP-led Centre, presenting 10 people at a public rally who were allegedly marked as dead in the draft electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal.

Addressing the gathering in Cooch Behar, the Trinamool national general secretary called the individuals on stage and claimed they had been wrongly declared deceased despite being residents of the district since birth. He alleged that their names were struck off the electoral rolls during the SIR process.

Banerjee accused the Election Commission of acting under political influence and said the ongoing exercise was effectively depriving citizens of their fundamental right to vote.

Allegations over voter list revision

The Diamond Harbour MP claimed that around 3.5 lakh residents of Cooch Behar district alone have received notices citing logical discrepancies during the SIR process. He urged Trinamool workers to ensure that all affected individuals are re-included in the voter list.

Banerjee also alleged that the EC was focusing on removing names from electoral rolls instead of safeguarding democratic participation. He claimed that anxiety related to the SIR exercise had led to the deaths of around 78 people in the state.

Earlier this month, Banerjee had presented three individuals at another rally in South 24 Parganas district, alleging that they too had been marked as dead voters in the draft rolls.

Attack on BJP over unfulfilled promises

Targeting the BJP-led Centre, Banerjee accused the ruling party of failing to fulfil electoral promises made to the people of Cooch Behar since 2014. He cited commitments related to the formation of the Narayani battalion, a training centre named after warrior Chilarai, international status for the Madan Mohan temple, and the upgradation of Cooch Behar airport.

He also claimed that the 9-seater aircraft service between Cooch Behar and Kolkata, introduced in February 2023, is likely to be discontinued by the end of the month, alleging neglect by the Centre.

Assembly polls and political messaging

Calling on voters to back Trinamool candidates in all nine assembly seats in Cooch Behar district, Banerjee said the upcoming assembly elections would be a contest between the people of Bengal and the BJP. In the 2021 assembly elections, the BJP had won six seats in the district, while Trinamool secured three.

He thanked voters for defeating former Union minister Nisith Pramanik in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and asserted that the Trinamool Congress would return to power in West Bengal for a fourth consecutive term under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Banerjee also criticised recent central agency actions in the state and accused the BJP leadership of insulting Bengal’s cultural and political legacy. He further alleged excesses by border forces against farmers working near the India-Bangladesh border and objected to NRC notices allegedly being sent to some residents of Cooch Behar.

A rare and emotionally charged family moment played out on Tuesday when Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tej Pratap Yadav visited 10 Circular Road, the residence of former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, to meet his parents and younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.

The visit marked a notable departure from months of visible distance within the Lalu Prasad Yadav family and was centred around a formal invitation for a Dahi-Chura feast scheduled for January 14 on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

Tej Pratap personally handed over the invitation letter to Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, in a gesture widely interpreted as an attempt at reconciliation and reaffirmation of family unity.

Upon his arrival, Tej Pratap sought blessings by touching the feet of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, underscoring the personal significance of the meeting.

Rare public warmth between the brothers

The meeting was particularly striking as it was the first time in a long while that Tej Pratap and Tejashwi were seen together with visible warmth in front of the media. For several months, the two brothers had been living separately and maintaining a noticeable distance on public platforms, fuelling speculation of a rift.

A deeply personal moment during the visit drew widespread attention when Tej Pratap lifted Tejashwi’s daughter, Katyayani, in his arms. The images of the interaction quickly circulated on social media, presenting a softer picture of family bonds beyond political equations.

Tej Pratap later described the moment as a memorable experience, reinforcing the impression that familial ties remain intact despite past differences.

Political and symbolic significance

Political observers see the visit as a significant shift after a prolonged phase of strained relations, often described as a “cold war” between the brothers. The timing of the outreach, on the eve of Makar Sankranti, has also blunted opposition narratives of a deep and irreversible divide within the Lalu family.

Attention has now shifted to the Dahi-Chura feast scheduled for Wednesday. Beyond its cultural importance, the event is being viewed as a symbolic display of unity within the family and the party.

The outreach has generated renewed enthusiasm among RJD workers, with many keenly watching how Tejashwi Yadav and other family members participate in the celebration, which could further cement this much-discussed rapprochement.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has once again written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that errors arising from AI-driven digitisation of the 2002 electoral rolls are causing widespread hardship to genuine voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.

In her fifth letter since the SIR process began, Banerjee claimed that the use of artificial intelligence tools to digitise older voter lists led to serious inaccuracies in electors’ personal details. According to her, these errors have resulted in large-scale data mismatches, with many genuine voters being wrongly flagged as having “logical discrepancies”.

The chief minister accused the Election Commission of disregarding statutory processes that had been followed over the past two decades. She said voters were now being forced to re-establish their identity despite corrections having been made earlier through quasi-judicial hearings.

Calling the approach arbitrary and illogical, Banerjee alleged that it went against the constitutional spirit by effectively disowning the commission’s own past actions and mechanisms. She further claimed that voters submitting documents during the SIR exercise were not being given proper acknowledgements, terming the procedure “fundamentally flawed”.

Raising concerns over the nature of hearings, Banerjee said the SIR process had become largely mechanical and overly dependent on technical data, lacking sensitivity, human judgment and compassion. She argued that such an approach undermines democratic values and the constitutional framework.

Highlighting the human impact of the exercise, the chief minister claimed that the revision process had already seen 77 deaths, four suicide attempts and 17 cases of hospitalisation. She attributed these incidents to fear, intimidation and excessive workload caused by what she described as an unplanned exercise by the Election Commission.

Banerjee also criticised the treatment of several eminent citizens, alleging that they were subjected to harassment during the process. She further expressed concern over the handling of cases involving women voters, particularly those who had changed their surnames after marriage or shifted to their matrimonial homes.

According to her, women electors were being questioned and summoned to prove their identity, reflecting a lack of social sensitivity and amounting to an insult to women and genuine voters. She questioned whether a constitutional authority should treat half of the electorate in such a manner.

Urging immediate corrective steps, Banerjee called on the Election Commission to address the issues arising from the SIR exercise to end what she described as harassment and agony for both citizens and officials, and to safeguard democratic rights.