Mamata exposes ‘BJP rubber stamp’ on ECI letter, alleges conspiracy to rig polls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, 24 March, publicly accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of being under BJP’s control, waving a newspaper bearing a front-page story that highlighted an ECI notification stamped with the BJP Kerala unit’s seal.

Speaking to reporters at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport before departing for Bagdogra for election campaigning, Banerjee said, “The cat is out of the bag—this BJP stamp on the EC letter shows who’s pulling the strings.”

The controversy erupted on 23 March when an ECI communication surfaced with the BJP seal, triggering a nationwide debate just hours after the midnight release of SIR's first supplementary voters’ list in West Bengal. Banerjee dismissed the Election Commission’s explanation of a “clerical error” as nonsense and labelled the issue a “political conspiracy to rig the polls.”

Banerjee linked the BJP-stamped letter directly to serious delays in the SIR process, which left nearly 60 lakh voters in limbo, with only 29 lakh cases adjudicated so far. The supplementary list was released online around midnight on 23 March with little notice, drawing sharp criticism from political analysts.

Sujit Chatterjee, a senior analyst, said this timing showed bureaucratic incompetence and possibly malice, rendering the list practically useless for millions awaiting resolutions. The “absurd timing” ensured minimal public scrutiny at polling booths, effectively burying transparency and wasting critical days before the April elections.

Critics, particularly from the Trinamool Congress, describe the exercise as a sham. Though officials claim 705 judicial officers processed cases, no concrete data on deletions or additions has emerged, leaving 31 lakh disputes unresolved. This fuels fears of mass disenfranchisement, especially in minority-heavy districts like Murshidabad and Malda. Chatterjee noted that the process’s opacity reeks of bias and prioritizes BJP’s alleged “cleansing” agenda. Strict document demands mimic an unofficial NRC, alienating the poor who lack papers and reportedly causing harassment, including BLO deaths.

Banerjee accused the ECI of targeting genuine voters while favouring removals of alleged infiltrators. She urged all parties to unite against what she called “EC-backed one-party rule,” warning that such bias threatens democratic integrity ahead of the 23 and 29 April assembly polls.

BJP leaders swiftly responded. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari called Banerjee’s actions “desperate,” tweeting, “Didi’s newspaper drama hides her fear of clean rolls—EC follows Supreme Court, not stamps.” State BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar called the stamp a “minor goof-up,” accusing Banerjee of diverting attention from the goal to purge 58 lakh dubious names. CPI(M) has demanded an independent investigation.

ECI officials admitted the error but remained silent otherwise, with Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal focusing on finalising upcoming voters’ lists and managing 19 appeal tribunals.

(With agency inputs)