FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Wednesday, 26 November 2025 SPORTS WORLD NATION Goal is to free India from mentality of slavery: PM Page 13 Pak strikes have killed 10, mostly children, says Afghanistan 10-man Everton beat Manchester United NATION Bihar govt’s first Cabinet meet unveils big jobs, tech push Page 11 Page 5 Page 16 SIR: ECI set to delete 10 lakh names from Bengal voter lists BJP’s Bengal dream will remain out of reach: CM UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Kolkata, 25 November Kolkata, 25 November Three weeks into West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission of India is preparing for one of the state’s largest voter-roll clean-ups in over two decades. Preliminary data indicates that at least 10 lakh names, reflecting years of accumulated irregularities, are likely to be deleted once the exercise is completed. Sources within the ECI reveal that around 6.5 lakh deletions involve voters confirmed dead, while the remaining 3.5 lakh names fall under categories of duplicates, shifted voters, and those who could not be traced. A significant portion of these questionable entries is concentrated in the border districts of North and South Dinajpur, long identified as zones with disproportionately high voter growth. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE I will not spare the BJP if they try to engineer attacks against Bengal. If the name of a single genuine voter is dropped, then the ECI will not be spared. T AROUND 6.5 LAKH DELETIONS INVOLVE VOTERS CONFIRMED DEAD, WHILE 3.5 LAKH NAMES FALL UNDER CATEGORIES OF DUPLICATES, SHIFTED, OR UNTRACEABLE VOTERS. An official in the CEO’s office pointed out that between 2002, when the last SIR was conducted, and 2025, Bengal saw a staggering 66 per cent rise in registered voters. The early findings appear to confirm the ECI’s earlier mapping, which showed the highest spikes in voter enrolment in districts adjoining Bangladesh. ˘ • More details: Page 3 he BJP’s hopes of winning the 2026 Assembly election will remain a distant dream as the people of Bengal are aware of the “nasty tricks” of the saffron party, Chief Minister and Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said this afternoon. “I joined politics during my student days and have always protested against any form of attack on people. I will not spare the BJP if they try to engineer attacks against Bengal. They have not cleared our dues and have forced everyone, including most of the media, to follow them,” she said. Miss Banerjee was addressing a gathering at Bongaon in North 24-Parganas, the heartland of the Matua community. She took part in a rally from Chandpara Pratpotti More to Dhakuria School More to CHIEF MINISTER MAMATA BANERJEE protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which she alleged was intended to pave the way for NRC. Mr Shantanu Thakur, Union Minister of State for Shipping from the BJP, had won the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Bongaon. Miss Banerjee said: “The BJP won the recently concluded Assembly election in Bihar by using the Election Commission of India and money power, and the people could not understand their tricks. But here in Bengal the situation is altogether different. People may take money from the BJP but will vote for the Trinamul Congress, as the BJP will fail to protect them and provide security. People know that once the election is over, the BJP will not give money.” She reiterated that she was not against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out by the Election Commission of India, but argued that it should not have been conducted in haste. She said, “If the name of a single genuine voter is dropped, then the ECI will not be spared.” She assured the gathering that as long as her ‘Maa Mati Manush’ government remained in power, no one could drive them out of India. SC rejects plea of Army officer against termination of service: New Delhi: The Supreme Court has affirmed the removal of Army officer Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan from service, holding that his refusal to enter the regiment’s Mandir & Gurdwara during mandatory religious parades amounted to serious indiscipline incompatible with Army life. A Bench of CJI Kant & Justice Bagchi refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court’s order upholding the Army’s action. The High Court had earlier held that military discipline & unit cohesion must prevail in such settings, & that personal religious freedoms can be reasonably restricted under Article 33 of the Constitution. Page 7