Inside Bengal’s SIR camps: TMC calls the shots, rivals allege intimidation

During a visit to six SIR hearing camps in four districts — North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, and Howrah — at which “logical discrepancies” in people’s SIR forms were being scrutinised, The Indian Express saw only Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers. Most of them said they were tasked with “monitoring” the BLOs and Block Development Officers (BDOs), ostensibly to prevent “any trouble”. However, the TMC’s political rivals — Left, Congress, and BJP — accused it of using threats of violence and intimidation to keep their workers away from the camps.

The TMC is the dominant political force in North and South 24 Parganas in South Bengal and is also strong in Murshidabad and Howrah, though in the latter two districts, the Congress and the BJP have pockets of presence. While the hearings were set to conclude on February 7, they are pending at several places and the top court on Monday directed that the deadline to complete the SIR exercise be extended by a week.

BLO Mukta Zaman advises people in the Talbagan para village on the outskirts of Baharampur town. Zaman says she is apprehensive as “people have our phone number and know our face”. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

While former state BJP president Rahul Sinha accused the TMC of “using the government machinery to take control of the SIR hearings”, state Congress president Subhankar Sarkar alleged the TMC was “stealing votes with the connivance of the EC”.

“We have been saying from the beginning that the Opposition does not have any ground-level presence. The TMC has always been committed to the people of West Bengal and appointed 89,631 BLAs. Having failed to appoint BLAs in 60% of the places, the Opposition is now levelling false allegations,” said TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty.

Minakhan (North 24 Parganas)

In Minakhan, about 50 km from Kolkata, more than 5,000 people recently queued up at a field near the BDO office amid the dust and rows of vendors selling everything from phuchka to sugarcane juice.

At one corner, there was a group of men with piles of papers on the tables in front of them. Another group stood with the BLOs and other poll officers, while a third managed the queue. All of them were the TMC’s SIR volunteers. “We are everywhere. From filling up forms to coordinating with BLOs to getting them the necessary documents, we are doing everything,” said former TMC panchayat pradhan Jiarul Hoque Mollah.

A minute’s walk away, Minakhan panchayat samiti chairperson Saifuddin Mollah explained how deeply involved the party was in the exercise. “We have three layers of volunteers. One is sitting outside the BDO premises to guide people about where they should go to submit papers. Another group is present at the venue from morning till evening, filling out forms and checking those forms and documents. Each day, a minimum of 10 calls are made to each BLO to check the status of each application and hearing. The third layer consists of 70-80 volunteers coordinating between people, BLOs, and Booth Level Agents (BLAs, who are appointed by the party). We have been here since January 24, when the hearings started.”

TMC leaders and workers assist people at an SIR hearing camp at the Minakhan BDO office in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

Asked about the other parties, TMC panchayat member Jalaluddin Mollah claimed he had not seen them. “The BJP cannot be here since they are the ones who put people in trouble. The BJP came here to delete a few names, but we did not allow them to submit the papers.”

TMC worker Mahafizul Rahman said people were angry. “Our MLA and other leaders are making rounds regularly. We are monitoring the work of BLOs and BDOs,” he said, before adding ominously, “The khela (game) will begin after the final voters’ list is published. If any voter is excluded, the BLOs and BDOs will face their anger. Then, we can’t help them.”

Baruipur (South 24 Parganas)

At the Mallikpur Girls’ School in Baruipur, about 30 km from Kolkata, local TMC youth leader Izhar Ahmed said apart from people who had been summoned, the party was “guiding the EROs (Electoral Registration Officers) and AEROs (Assistant EROs) from time to time”.

At the nearby local boys’ school, a local TMC leader shouted at a BLO for doing “shoddy work”, while another, Asadul Hoque, arrived soon afterwards to pull up another BLO. “Remember that we know you,” he warned him.

“Today, I came here with papers of a youth who is scheduled to appear for a hearing, but his wedding is also today.. How can he postpone his marriage for this? His parents requested me, as I am the senior party leader here. So, I came here to produce his documents,” Hoque later said.

Local CPI(M) leader Lahek Ali, a former candidate from the Baruipur Paschim Assembly constituency, alleged that the party had failed to appoint BLAs at many places because of the “TMC’s violence”. “They are using muscle power while claiming to help people,” he said.

Chara Panchla (Howrah)

At the Chara Panchla gram panchayat in Howrah, 35 km from Kolkata, The Indian Express saw TMC block president Sheikh Ashraf Hussain and other leaders give directions to party workers and BLOs.

“We are ensuring that everything is peaceful. When the BLOs err, we ask them to correct it. They are our people too. Apart from arranging papers for them, we are giving them the Xerox facility for free. Our boys are monitoring round the clock, coordinating with the BLOs,” said Hussain, adding that local MLA Gulshan Mullick was also supervising the camps.

At another camp in Panchla, a five-minute drive away, TMC workers managed the queues and communicated with the BLOs to ensure the people summoned received help. “We are working just like during elections,” said local panchayat pradhan Pampa Hazra’s husband Kalipada. “We are arranging everything for voters, from dry food and water to certificates and proforma of affidavits. Two to three e-rickshaws have also been deployed to help ferry people.”

Sandhyarani Das, who was in the queue, said, “The TMC is helping us. But the entire exercise is time-consuming. But what to do? We have to get our name onto the voter list.”

Local Forward Bloc leader Farid Mollah alleged his party was not allowed to appoint BLAs “because of violence by the TMC”. “They won’t allow those they believe to be Opposition voters to remain in the list,” he alleged.

Murshidabad

At the BDO office in Kandi in Murshidabad, about 200 km from Kolkata, TMC leaders were the only ones present and struggled to manage the large crowd. Local TMC leader Aminul Haque said he was apprehensive about violence erupting. “We are also keeping a check on the BLOs. If they falter, they may face people’s ire. I am not alone. There are at least 30 workers and leaders of our party monitoring the camp,” he said.

In the village of Talbagan Para on the outskirts of Baharampur town, 36-year-old BLO Mukta Zaman advised a group that had gathered around her under the streetlights. Her phone rang almost nonstop. “It is madness,” she said. “Since the SIR began, our lives have changed. And it is getting worse every day. We have to follow EC guidelines on the one hand and face angry voters on the other. I am racing against time. During the day, I issue notices and attend hearings. From evening to night, I address people’s queries and guide them.”

Zaman herself has received the summons to a hearing. “The notice highlighted that my age difference with my father is less than 15 years. My father, who worked in the Police, retired this year. I don’t know how they found this discrepancy.”

“We are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. People have our phone number and know our face. We are facing the brunt of their anger. I am apprehensive about what will happen after the final list is published,” Zaman said.