Maharashtra BJP tells cadre to learn from Bengal in SIR exercise
3 min readMumbaiMay 7, 2026 02:20 PM IST
As Maharashtra struggles to complete the pre-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) mapping exercise, the state BJP unit held a meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, where its cadre was directed to “take lessons from West Bengal”, where 64 lakh ineligible voter names were deleted from the electoral rolls.
The meeting, chaired by state party president Ravindra Chavan, saw more than 700 party members, including MPs, MLAs, and office bearers, being briefed on the SIR exercise, along with a broader template of dos and don’ts.
Urging party workers to take the SIR seriously, senior BJP leaders called for greater participation to ensure no eligible voters were skipped and no ineligible voters made it to the list.
“Maharashtra BJP should take SIR lessons from West Bengal, where 64 lakh ineligible voters were deleted. While Trinamool Congress may have blamed SIR for their defeat, the fact remains that our objections about illegal votes were upheld by both the Election Commission and the Supreme Court,” senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiyya said, addressing the gathering.
Somaiyya claimed that there were “at least 50 lakh ineligible voters” in the state. “There are several cases of duplicate and double names. Along with that, there are illegal Bangladeshis who have enrolled themselves as voters,” he added.
Directing party workers to closely monitor the SIR process in every Assembly constituency and booth—Maharashtra has 288 Assembly constituencies and 1.7 lakh booths—Somaiya cited the example of the neighbouring constituencies of Mulund and Mumbra. “The rise in voters in Mulund was from 2.96 lakh in 2009 to 3 lakh in 2024. Whereas Mumbra saw a steep rise from 2.81 lakh in 2009 to 4.87 lakh in 2024,” Somaiyya alleged, adding, “The ineligible voters are dotted across Dhule, Malegaon, Sillod, Bhiwandi, Mumbra…etc.”
Saying that party workers should shed complacency, at least two top BJP leaders stressed that they should use the SIR to take the party’s anti-Bangladeshi infiltration drive to its logical end. To achieve these targets, they should be armed with a proper list of voters across segments, the leaders added.
Story continues below this ad
“The essential aim of the meeting was to inform party leaders and workers about SIR. It was to create awareness and also emphasise the significance of the drive to enrol eligible voters,” BJP vice-president Keshav Upadhya said.
