Mamata’s SIR-Way Cost Her? She Threw Papers In LS For It In 2005, She Went To SC Against It In 2026

Twenty-one years ago, Mamata Banerjee threw papers in the Lok Sabha to protest against illegal infiltration from Bangladesh into West Bengal. In 2026, she fought against the Election Commission’s ‘Special Intensive Revision’ (SIR) to clean the rolls.
Did Banerjee’s historic turnaround on the SIR cost Trinamool Congress (TMC) dearly in 2026 Bengal elections? News18 explains.

What happened on August 4, 2005?

Banerjee had moved an adjournment motion to discuss illegal immigrants being included in West Bengal’s voter lists, which she termed a “disaster”. When the Deputy Speaker, Charanjit Singh Atwal, disallowed her motion, she rushed to the Well of the House and flung a sheaf of papers at the Speaker’s chair. Following the incident, she submitted her resignation from the Lok Sabha,

stating there was “no point” in being a member if she could not raise people’s issues. Her resignation was rejected by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee because it was not submitted in the proper prescribed form.

How the ghost of 2005 came back to haunt Mamata

In 2026, the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted a massive SIR exercise in West Bengal. Banerjee alleged that over 1.20 crore names faced deletion in a “hideous” move by the EC, which she termed a “WhatsApp Commission,” alleging they are targeting her voter base on the eve of the 2026 Assembly Elections.
The TMC was accused of allowing “infiltrators” to make voter lists in the past. Now, by protesting the removal of names during the SIR, Banerjee’s critics argued that she was trying to protect illegal voters, turning her own issue against her.
Banerjee engaged in a prolonged, bitter standoff with the Election Commission, even traveling to Delhi to register objections and warning that the exercise would lead to a “major fallout” and “public outrage”.
She filed petitions in the Supreme Court, and in a unique move, appeared in person on February 4, 2026, to argue against the SIR, alleging harassment of voters.

Her opponents used the high-stakes legal battleto highlight how Banerjee, when in power, used the same legal tools against the ECI that she once accused the CPI(M) of abusing, say experts.
Reports emerged that a TMC mouthpiece wrongly reported that she had received and filled out an SIR form, which she vehemently denied, showing the confusion within her own party over whether to cooperate with the process or resist it.
Opposition leaders, including BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, highlighted how when she was in the opposition, Banerjee demanded stricter voter rolls, but as a ruler, she opposes them, accusing her of abandoning core principles when they affect her power.
All of this was used to portray her as desperate and “unsettled” in the run-up to the elections, which, in turn, may have impacted public perception, say analysts.