Form-7 flashpoint: Bengal sees clashes, rival claims of voter roll sabotage

A procedural deadline in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls spiralled into a full-blown political confrontation in West Bengal on Monday, with the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP clashing across multiple districts over the submission of Form-7 applications — the paperwork used to seek deletion of names from the voter list. The eruption comes barely three months before Assembly elections, adding a new layer of tension to an already polarised pre-poll season.

Monday was the final day for filing Form-7, which allows voters or parties to raise objections and claims before the electoral rolls are frozen. The closing hours saw district-wide protests, counter-protests and allegations of assault, vandalism and document destruction.

The TMC mounted demonstrations accusing the BJP of trying to purge “legitimate voters” through bulk Form-7 submissions, while the BJP alleged its workers were attacked, intimidated and prevented from filing paperwork inside government offices.

In Asansol, the confrontation turned ugly when TMC workers stopped a vehicle allegedly carrying a stack of Form-7 forms to the SDO’s office. TMC leaders said BJP workers “failed to provide a satisfactory explanation” for the bulk applications, after which some forms were allegedly snatched and burnt, and the vehicle’s windscreen smashed before police stepped in.

Local TMC leader Ashok Rudra claimed the BJP was conspiring “to remove voters’ names”, adding, “If an ineligible voter's name needs to be deleted, we have no objection. But the BJP has brought Form-7s in bulk to delete voters' names through manipulation. We have information that applications were meant to remove the names of nearly 25,000 voters in Asansol North and South seats.”

Violence was also reported in Murshidabad’s Lalbagh, where the BJP said TMC workers barged into the SDO office, beat party activists and ransacked property during the submission process. BJP district president Soumen Mondal alleged, “We were submitting forms as per the schedule when TMC workers attacked us. The SDO office itself was ransacked.”

TMC leader Shaoni Singh Roy rejected the account, insisting BJP leaders had “arrived with nearly 27,000 Form-7 applications”, arguing, “They came fearing defeat in the elections and tried to remove the names of eligible voters. We reached the spot after receiving information.”

Demonstrations rippled through other districts. In Howrah, TMC workers led by MLA Gautam Chowdhury protested outside the district magistrate’s office alleging harassment of voters during hearings. In Malda’s Chanchal-1 block, senior TMC leader and former IPS officer Prasun Banerjee staged a sit-in at a hearing centre over what he said were mass notices sent to voters.

In Paschim Bardhaman, an unusual TMC–CPI(M) joint protest outside the Durgapur SDO office accused authorities of forcing elderly and differently-abled voters to report to far-off centres. In Budbud, TMC supporters allegedly burnt tyres and blocked roads outside the BDO office for hours.

TMC district spokesperson Ujjwal Mukhopadhyay accused the BJP of using the SIR as a “cover” to tamper with rolls. “Under the guise of revision, there is a conspiracy to cancel voters' names. Elderly people and daily wage earners are being forced to stand in queues for hours. If even one legitimate voter's name is removed, we will intensify our movement,” he warned. Local CPI(M) leaders voiced similar complaints, particularly in Kanksa block, where the number of hearing centres was described as “grossly inadequate”.

In Hooghly’s Chinsurah, the dispute escalated further when BJP leaders accused local TMC MLA Asit Majumdar and his supporters of storming the SDO office and tearing up Form-7 applications. They alleged one BJP activist was assaulted in front of police officers who “remained mute spectators”.

Majumdar denied tearing up the forms, saying, “I do not know who did it. I did not see anything. But the BJP is trying to delete the names of valid voters. Our workers are present at hearing centres to prevent that. We will not allow even one voter's name to be removed.”

Similar clashes flared again in Asansol, where BJP supporters claimed workers were beaten while attempting to submit forms — allegations the TMC denied before police dispersed both sides.

The latest confrontations follow a flashpoint last week in Bankura’s Khatra subdivision, where TMC workers intercepted a vehicle said to be carrying thousands of pre-filled Form-7s. Police seized the vehicle and began an inquiry after TMC alleged the forms were intended to erase “legitimate voters” under cover of the SIR.

Form-7 is typically used to delete names on grounds such as death, relocation or duplication. The Election Commission has repeatedly insisted the revision is routine and aimed at accuracy. But in West Bengal — where battles over roll manipulation stretch back decades — the process has swiftly become political fodder.

With elections due in roughly three months for the 294-member Assembly, the Form-7 dispute now forms part of a broader campaign narrative, with both the TMC and BJP accusing each other of voter suppression as the SIR becomes a fresh front in Bengal’s bruising electoral war.

With PTI inputs