West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a fierce political and institutional attack on the Election Commission of India following a nearly 90-minute meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi. Accompanied by senior Trinamool Congress leaders and families allegedly affected by the Special Intensive Revision process, Banerjee accused the poll panel of deleting voters’ names arbitrarily and functioning as an extension of the BJP. Emerging from the meeting visibly agitated, she claimed that voters were being struck off electoral rolls over minor spelling differences and common surname variations typical to Bengal, calling the exercise undemocratic and unjust.
According to Banerjee, surnames such as Banerjee and Bandyopadhyay or Mukherjee and Mukhopadhyay were being flagged as anomalies, leading to cancellation of voter claims without proper hearings. She alleged that nearly 58 lakh voters were removed during the SIR exercise without due process, adding that booth-level officers were under pressure to comply. The chief minister further alleged that Scheduled Castes and minority communities were being disproportionately affected, questioning why vulnerable sections were bearing the brunt of the revision exercise.
Questioning the timing of the SIR, Banerjee asked why the exercise was being carried out just ahead of elections and why BJP-ruled states such as Assam were allegedly excluded. She claimed that while other states were allowed to submit multiple forms of documentation to verify voters, Bengal faced sudden rule changes. Accusing the Election Commission of acting in a partisan manner, Banerjee stated that she felt humiliated and misbehaved with during the meeting, eventually stepping out in protest. She alleged that the CEC provided what she termed a “garbage of lies” instead of justice, and claimed the Commission violated Supreme Court rulings and restricted media access around its premises.
However, sources familiar with the meeting said the Election Commission firmly rejected Trinamool’s allegations and asserted that the rule of law would prevail. According to these sources, the CEC warned against interference in SIR-related work and flagged incidents of vandalism and threats allegedly involving Trinamool leaders. Administrative issues such as delayed payments to booth-level officers and staffing gaps were also raised by the Commission. Meanwhile, BJP leaders dismissed Banerjee’s actions as political drama, accusing her of attempting to derail the voter revision process. As tensions escalate, the SIR controversy has emerged as a flashpoint in the run-up to upcoming elections, deepening the confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the Election Commission.
