Hooghly– Proceedings at the Chinsurah-Mogra block office in West Bengal’s Hooghly district were temporarily disrupted on Monday after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Asit Mazumdar forced a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearings. The legislator intervened to protest the exclusion of booth-level agents (BLAs) from the verification process, leading to a tense standoff between political workers and administrative officials.
The hearings, covering three assembly constituencies, were stalled when Mazumdar demanded that officials either permit BLAs to accompany voters or provide a written explanation for their exclusion. “Unless BLAs are allowed or officials give in writing that they will not be allowed, we will not allow the hearings,” Mazumdar declared. The situation escalated as the entry and exit gates of the block office were closed, barring access to the premises. While Election Commission (EC) guidelines explicitly state that BLAs are not permitted during these hearings, the MLA eventually allowed the process to resume, citing “humanitarian grounds” for citizens who had traveled from far-flung areas.
The incident has triggered a sharp political exchange. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that Mazumdar’s actions were influenced by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who reportedly discussed the involvement of BLAs during a recent virtual meeting. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari called for an FIR against the MLA and demanded the deployment of central forces to prevent future disruptions of EC work. In defense, TMC spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya argued that BLAs are necessary to help voters understand complex reasons for name deletions. Mazumdar further criticized the Election Commission, branding them “agents of the BJP” and questioning the logic of verifying the credentials of passport holders and army veterans.
