Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : TMC hails SC order on SIR, calls it rebuke to EC’s ‘arbitrary approach’ and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the court had acknowledged concerns raised by party chairperson Mamata Banerjee during the hearing last week, particularly on the role of micro-observers. He described the ruling as a defeat for those who believed institutions could be “weaponised against the people”.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra said the order made it clear that micro-observers had no statutory authority. “Their only duty is to observe, not accept or reject. They will be held accountable if they exceed their brief,” she said in a post on X.
Moitra said that since the official notification of SIR in October 2025, West Bengal had deployed more than 1 lakh officials for the exercise, including over 80,500 booth-level officers (BLOs), more than 8,500 AEROs and 294 EROs. She added that an indicative district-wise list of Group B officers had been prepared and shared with the EC in line with the Supreme Court’s observations.
The BJP, however, read the order differently. BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said the ruling was a “stunning blow” to what he alleged was a TMC conspiracy to stall the SIR process. He claimed the party wanted to retain “ghost, bogus and unauthorised voters” on electoral rolls to secure electoral advantage.
“Mamata Banerjee’s game is up. Despite public bravado, there is palpable panic and unease in Trinamool,” Bhattacharya said, adding that elections would no longer be won “as in the past”.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the Supreme Court had rejected what he termed the TMC’s attempt to delay the SIR exercise. He claimed the order would prevent the State administration from acting under political pressure.
“So far, any harassment caused to the public due to the SIR exercise was because of non-cooperation by the TMC regime. The Supreme Court has foiled this game plan,” Adhikari said.
The EC has not issued a detailed response to the competing political claims so far.