The integrity of West Bengal’s electoral process is under serious threat, with shocking revelations emerging from the Arambagh Block Development Officer (BDO) office. Sources allege that temporary workers, outsiders, and even teenagers and college students were engaged in the illegal handling and digitisation of sensitive Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter data a blatant violation of Election Commission (EC) directives.
When journalists attempted to photograph the workers, BDO staff rushed to hide their faces an almost cinematic admission of guilt, raising serious questions about the transparency and fairness of the ongoing electoral roll revision. Reports suggest that many of these workers were employees of IPAC, a private agency, allegedly hired to manipulate the SIR process in favor of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal revealed that as of November 27, out of over 6 crore digitised enumeration forms, around 26 lakh voters could not be mapped to the 2002 SIR rolls or any other state’s records. This translates to 4.3 per cent of voters remaining unmapped.
BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya, said that this sudden improvement from an initial 49 per cent discrepancy is suspicious. According to Malviya, “The gap between the electoral roll released on January 1, 2025 and the 2002 SIR rolls has artificially narrowed from 49 per cent to just 4.3 per cent due to fake linkages and hired parents inserted into the submissions during Phase 1 of SIR.”
BJP sources allege that the TMC is systematically exploiting loopholes by hiring private data-entry operators to create bogus family linkages. Reports indicate that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were allegedly instructed not to digitise enumeration forms of deceased, shifted, or absent voters, instead diverting the physical forms to panchayat offices raising the specter of large-scale manipulation of voter data.
At the Arambagh BDO office, journalists witnessed temporary workers, college students, and outsiders none of whom are certified BLOs handling voter data. The BDO’s reaction to hide their faces underscored the illicit nature of the activity. Such involvement of outsiders is strictly prohibited under EC rules, which mandate that SIR data should be managed only by trained and verified personnel.
Local reports also suggest that these workers were operatives from IPAC, a private political consultancy linked with TMC strategies. Their presence raises alarm over the possible large-scale manipulation of electoral rolls to favor the ruling party in a constituency where TMC has historically struggled.
Arambagh is a key battleground in West Bengal. The BJP narrowly lost the Lok Sabha seat twice in the past, while holding 4 of the 7 Assembly constituencies. It is one of the few regions where TMC has repeatedly failed to gain ground. Electoral manipulation here could tilt the balance in favor of the ruling party, giving them a strategic advantage in upcoming elections.
“The TMC appears to be building a ghost voter database,” said Amit Malviya. “Fake parents, absent voters, and manipulated SIR data are being used to artificially inflate numbers to their advantage. If unchecked, it could fundamentally compromise the democratic process.”
EC officials have acknowledged initial low mapping rates due to changes in polling booths, voter migration, and delimitation exercises. For example, new constituencies like Kasba and Metiabruz initially had mapping rates of just 4 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. However, Malviya and BJP leaders insist that the sudden improvement to 95 per cent mapping cannot be explained by these logistical factors alone.
The BJP has called for a full audit of all SIR submissions, cross-checking against the January 1, 2025 roll to flag discrepancies, issue notices, and initiate re-verification with relevant documents. Amit Malviya warned, “The time to act is now. The EC must weed out illegal and fake voters through extensive combing of the submissions made so far.”
The ongoing revelations suggest a dangerous trend: manipulating data, hiring outsiders to handle sensitive voter records, and attempting to cover up activities when caught on camera. If left unchecked, this could lead to a completely compromised electoral process, where ghost voters and falsified family linkages are used to secure electoral victories.
West Bengal’s democracy hangs in the balance. The BJP is demanding immediate action from the Election Commission to investigate Arambagh, audit SIR submissions across the state, and take legal action against all those responsible.
“The administration in Bengal is compromised, corrupt, and completely pliant,” Amit Malviya said. “EC must intervene to protect the integrity of the elections. The nation is watching.”
