By- Jawahar Mishra
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272 senior officials have written a letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing the Election Commission of tarnishing its image over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the country. Rahul Gandhi has been consistently issuing statements against the SIR. Furthermore, the Congress party is planning to hold a massive rally against the SIR at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan in the first week of December. AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said on Tuesday that the Election Commission’s aim is to destroy democracy and opposition parties. “We will take to the streets and hold a massive rally with millions of people at Ramlila Maidan in the first week of December.”
On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been vocal about the SIR, has suddenly fallen silent on the issue. Just before the SIR began, on November 4th, she held a massive rally in Kolkata, where, holding a copy of the Constitution, she accused the commission of “silent, invisible rigging.” She had said that if even one valid voter’s name is deleted, the BJP government at the center will fall.
She accused the EC of bias and asked why SIR is not being implemented in Assam, where the BJP is in power. However, Mamata Banerjee’s stance seems to have changed recently. She is not opposing SIR as much as before. This silence appears to be part of a political strategy. Initially, Mamata Banerjee refused to accept SIR forms, but now TMC workers are getting them filled out.
Mamata fears anger from Hindu voters – why doesn’t Rahul Gandhi ?
Since the implementation of the SIR in West Bengal, a large number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are leaving India to return to their country. Videos of these Bangladeshi immigrants are emerging daily. People are attempting to enter Bangladesh on foot, carrying their belongings on their heads. In fact, after the announcement of the SIR, they fear being sent to jail because they lack documents proving their Indian citizenship.
Initially, the TMC created a lot of uproar, claiming that the SIR had claimed the lives of seven people, and Abhishek Banerjee threatened protests in Delhi. But until November 19th, Mamata Banerjee has not shown any opposition to her level. Mamata herself has remained silent. This silence appears to be part of a political strategy. Initially, Mamata alerted the Muslim and minority vote bank by linking the SIR to the NRC.
But now, when the exodus of infiltrators is strengthening the BJP’s narrative, she is avoiding controversy. Mamata Banerjee refused to accept the SIR forms, but now TMC workers are getting them filled out. Mamata Banerjee’s silence stems from the 2026 elections, and accusations of protecting illegal immigrants could anger Hindu voters. The TMC has consistently described the SIR as a BJP conspiracy, but has maintained silence on the ground. Overall, the SIR has divided Bengal politics.
Mamata is playing electoral politics – while Rahul Gandhi is looking for excuses for his defeat.
Mamata has adopted a policy of silence on the SIR issue because she needs to manage West Bengal politics. She is focusing on local issues with an eye on the 2026 Bengal elections. Mamata’s silence is aimed at protecting Bengal’s minority politics. Mamata is deliberately avoiding making the influx of Bangladeshi immigrants an issue because she knows that illegal Bangladeshis pose a problem not only to Hindus but also to West Bengal’s Muslim residents. This is likely why Mamata Banerjee is not appearing aggressive even as towns and villages are being emptied of illegal Bangladeshis.
While Rahul is trying to use this as a means to unite the opposition at the national level, he doesn’t seem to be getting support from his allies in Bihar on this issue. Currently, Mamata Banerjee was already at odds with Rahul. She sent TMC representatives to Rahul’s Bihar Voter Rights Yatra but did not attend herself, reflecting her “go it alone” approach.
But Rahul Gandhi is in no mood to concede defeat. In fact, the Grand Alliance won only 35 seats in Bihar, while the NDA won 202. However, Rahul posted on X that SIR had stolen democracy. Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed also claimed to have no objection to SIR, but Rahul dismissed this. He also said that the Election Commission is a puppet of the BJP. Perhaps through this strategy, Rahul wants to prevent rebellion within the party by portraying his defeat as a conspiracy of the system.
Rahul Gandhi’s dream of becoming a pan-Indian Muslim leader through SIR
Despite not receiving the support he desired from the India Bloc on SIR, Rahul Gandhi is pressing this issue. This could be his strategy to use it to capture the Muslim vote bank of his allies. His dream could be to emerge as a pan-Indian Muslim leader in the country.
Indeed, in Muslim-majority areas stretching from Bihar to Kerala, West Bengal to Uttar Pradesh, Congress is facing tough competition from its allies. In the face of Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, the Lalu Prasad Yadav family in Bihar, Mamata Banerjee in Bengal, and the Left parties in Kerala, Congress is unable to expand its reach among Muslim voters. Under the pretext of SIR, Rahul Gandhi wants to emerge as the sole leader of the Muslim community across the country. Clearly, his strategy could be a good one to save the Congress.
