Kolkata: Ahead of the two-phase Assembly elections in April, the political temperature is rising in West Bengal.
At loggerheads with the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the manner of its conduct of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state and for effecting major changes in the administration, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday fired a fresh salvo.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, flagging what she called a “grave conspiracy” by the BJP to manipulate the state’s electoral process.
Mamata alleged that BJP agents were caught submitting thousands of fraudulent Form 6 applications to include non-residents and outsiders in Bengal’s electoral rolls. “This is an attempt at voter hijacking, the same dirty game BJP successfully played in Maharashtra and Delhi,” the CM alleged, adding that ECI appears to be rushing through these bulk applications behind closed doors.
In her letter, Mamata cited the Supreme Court’s order dated February 20, 2026, which emphasised the need for impartial adjudication of voter applications under the “logical discrepancy/unmapped category.”
“This is not only illegal and against the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, but a direct assault on free and fair elections in Bengal,” Mamata said.
She demanded that the ECI immediately halt the exercise, strictly follow the Supreme Court’s directions and ensure no fake voters are added to the electoral roll published on February 28, 2026.
Mamata alleged it was a coordinated effort by the BJP in conjunction with ECI to interfere with democratic rights. She said credible reports indicate that the bulk applications were “a mischievous ploy to include non-residents in the electoral roll,” noting similar patterns in previous elections in Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi.
“This is not routine application processing but an attempt to manipulate the voter base. Such actions, if true, are illegal, unconstitutional, and fundamentally undemocratic,” she said.
“Bengal will not allow its democracy to be stolen in broad daylight. The people are watching,” she asserted.
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