Agartala, Aug 9 (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Tripura assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, on Sunday said any attempt to replicate the “West Bengal or Bihar-style” Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state would be resisted.
The Election Commission has announced that the SIR exercise will be conducted in Tripura from September 5.
“We want the EC to ensure that no valid voter is left out of the final electoral rolls. The SIR was conducted in the state earlier, but not in the way the poll panel carried out the exercise in West Bengal and Bihar,” Chaudhury told reporters.
He alleged that the “new style of SIR” introduced by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was aimed at excluding eligible voters to benefit the BJP rather than cleaning up the electoral rolls.
Chaudhury, who is also the CPI(M) state secretary, urged people to remain vigilant during the exercise.
He said the revision should not be used to “save the sinking boat” of the BJP-IPFT-Tipra Motha alliance ahead of the 2028 assembly elections. “The party wants no valid elector left out of the final electoral rolls, and any attempt to repeat what we have seen in West Bengal and Bihar will be resisted with the help of the people,” he said.
Chaudhury also criticised the ongoing talks between the BJP and its ally, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), over seat-sharing for elections to the Village Committees of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
“This is not a talk for an alliance or seat adjustment between two allies as they are already sharing power in the northeastern state. It is like bargaining between two parties at a fish market to safeguard each other’s electoral interests,” he said.
He said the two parties should publicly announce their seat-sharing arrangement so that voters could understand their “real intention” and not be “duped”.
