"ECI portal 'illegally controlled, data manipulated': Mamata Banerjee flags SIR concerns to CEC

The Chief Minister claimed that thousands of 'Micro-Observers' are being engaged unilaterally by the ECI without adequate training or proven expertise for what she described as a "specialised, sensitive and quasi-judicial exercise."

"Recently, for the first time in the electoral history of India, the Election Commission of India has deployed approximately 8,100 Micro-Observers (MOs) in West Bengal, during the ongoing SIR process. These Micro-Observers are being unilaterally engaged by the ECI without adequate training or demonstrated expertise for such a specialised, sensitive and quasi-judicial exercise," she said in the letter.

"Besides, four IAS officers belonging to the Tripura cadre have been appointed as Observers vide letter dated 10th January 2026, in addition to five other observers from the Centre and twelve from West Bengal. It is reported that some observers are functioning from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and have taken control of the ECI portal without any legal authority. They are allegedly manipulating data to subvert the roll revision process with ulterior motives. It is further alleged that this is being done as a backdoor mechanism for the exclusion and disenfranchisement of a large number of eligible electors," reads the letter.

Banerjee alleged that some observers are functioning from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and have taken control of the ECI portal without legal authority.

She claimed that data is being manipulated to subvert the roll revision process with ulterior motives, allegedly leading to the exclusion and disenfranchisement of a large number of voters.

The letter reads, "This raises serious questions. Are these micro-observers and observers empowered under the statute to act as approving authorities or are they merely mandated to oversee the process and guide and assist the statutory authorities? Are the AEROS and EROs being rendered helpless, isolated and reduced to mere spectators in the face of illegal, unauthorised and unwarranted actions by such non-statutory authorities, apparently designed by the ECI? These developments raise grave concerns regarding the credibility and integrity of the SIR and warrant immediate investigation."

Referring to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Banerjee alleged that the process of hearings and disposal of logical discrepancy cases, the deployment of micro-observers and observers for back-end verification, and the admissibility of documents such as family registers and domicile certificates in West Bengal were starkly different from practices followed in other States.

"It is also deeply disturbing that an exercise governed by a uniform Act and Rules applicable across the country is being implemented differently across States, instead of ensuring consistency in process, procedure, and methodology," she said.

She further added, "In the ongoing SIR, the manner of hearings and disposal of logical discrepancy cases, the deployment of micro-observers and observers for back-end verification and disposal and the applicability and admissibility of documents such as family registers and domicile certificates as followed in West Bengal are starkly different from practices adopted in other States. For West Bengal, it appears that an entirely different set of rules is being applied, contrary to statutory provisions and for reasons that remain inexplicable." (ANI)