Trinamool Congress (TMC) All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday held a special virtual meeting with the party’s Booth Level Agents (BLA-2) and electoral roll supervisors across blocks, towns, and wards. During the meeting, Banerjee instructed party workers to remain present alongside citizens summoned for hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He described the situation as a “wartime scenario” and urged the party not to concede any ground to the BJP.

Banerjee made it clear that BLA-2s must attend every SIR hearing without exception. He warned that if any party worker is stopped from entering a hearing centre, the Trinamool Congress would immediately seek legal remedies. Stressing the importance of parallel legal action, he questioned why technology could not be used by the Election Commission to facilitate hearings for migrant workers and vulnerable citizens.

The second phase of SIR hearings began on Saturday and has already triggered controversy across the state. Despite Election Commission assurances that voters above 85 years of age would not be summoned, visuals emerged of elderly citizens standing in long queues. In Kolkata, a 90-year-old man was seen waiting in the cold at a hearing centre in Chetla, sparking public outrage.

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Reports from other districts further fueled criticism of the process. In West Midnapore, a pregnant woman was reportedly seen waiting in a hearing queue on the same day she had been admitted to hospital. Images of octogenarians and infirm individuals attending hearings intensified allegations that the exercise was being conducted without adequate humanitarian considerations.

Banerjee alleged that people in Bengal were being continuously harassed under the guise of the SIR process. He announced that the TMC would set up assistance camps near hearing centres to help affected voters with documentation and procedural support. Party leaders and volunteers would provide on-ground assistance, similar to the ‘May I Help You’ camps earlier set up by the state administration.

Addressing over one lakh BLAs during the meeting, Banerjee praised their role and asked them to function as constant observers of Booth Level Officers for the next six weeks. Accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of targeting Bengal, he questioned why hearings could not be conducted at voters’ homes when doorstep voting facilities already exist. He asserted that the party’s “vote protection” machinery would remain fully active throughout the SIR process.

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