The ongoing strain between the West Bengal government and the Centre over election-related issues intensified on Monday after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent a two-page letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, urging immediate intervention on what she described as two “disturbing yet urgent developments”.
This comes just days after the Chief Minister wrote to the CEC requesting the suspension of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the state.
In her latest communication, Mamata said that two developments brought to her notice could have a direct impact on the electoral process in West Bengal.
The first issue she raised concerns an Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal. According to her, the CEO has instructed District Election Officers (DEOs) not to use contractual workers or Bengal Support Kendra (BSK) personnel for SIR or other election-related data entry tasks. Instead, the CEO’s office has issued an RFP to hire 1,000 data entry operators and 50 software developers through an external agency for a full year.
Questioning the necessity of this move, Mamata wrote, “When district offices already have a substantial number of competent professionals performing such functions, what necessitates the CEO’s initiative to outsource the same work through an external agency for a full year?”
She argued that DEOs have always been empowered to hire contractual workers as per need and asked whether the CEO’s decision was being made “at the behest of a political party to serve vested interests.” The Chief Minister also criticised the timing and manner of the RFP, calling it a matter of “serious concern.”
In the second part of her letter, Mamata objected strongly to the reported consideration of setting up polling stations inside private housing complexes. She alleged that the Election Commission has sought opinions from district officials regarding such a proposal.
Calling the idea “deeply problematic,” the Chief Minister wrote that polling stations have historically been placed in government or semi-government buildings within a 2-km radius to ensure neutrality and accessibility. Housing complexes, she noted, were avoided due to their potential to compromise the fairness of elections and create a divide between “privileged residents and the general public.”
“Why is such a move being contemplated at all? Again, is this being done under pressure from a political party to advance their partisan interests?” she asked in the letter.
Mamata stressed that the dignity, impartiality, and credibility of the Election Commission must be protected at all costs.
The letter has sparked intense discussion in political circles, with observers viewing it as a fresh flashpoint in the growing state–Centre confrontation ahead of the elections.
Also read: Mamata slams EC over SIR work pressure for BLO deaths
Follow us
