Mamata Banerjee alleges BJP bid to add ‘illegal voters’ to Bengal rolls

Mamata Banerjee on 31 March alleged that the BJP was attempting to include “illegal voters” from other states in West Bengal’s electoral rolls to influence poll outcomes.

Addressing election rallies in Paschim Medinipur and Bankura districts, Banerjee claimed that voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were being targeted for inclusion through bulk applications.

In a letter to Gyanesh Kumar, she said Form 6 applications submitted for “not genuine residents of Bengal” were “illegal, unconstitutional and fundamentally undemocratic”.

Allegations over voter list manipulation

The Chief Minister said she was informed by Abhishek Banerjee that nearly 30,000 Form 6 applications were submitted in a single day.

“The BJP is trying to include illegal voters… and bring outstation voters by train to vote in constituencies like Asansol and Kharagpur,” she alleged.

She said people would resist any attempt to “squeeze in illegal voters from outside” into the electoral rolls.

The allegations came amid clashes between supporters of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata, where protests were held over alleged manipulation of voter lists.

Concerns over voter roll revision

Banerjee also criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that genuine voters were being affected.

She said over 60 lakh voters were under adjudication and claimed that more than 200 people had died due to stress linked to the process, though the claim could not be independently verified.

“This is… a direct assault on free and fair elections in Bengal,” she said in a post on social media.

According to official data cited in the report, 63.66 lakh names—around 8.3% of the electorate—were deleted from voter rolls following the revision process, reducing the voter base from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.

Banerjee alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission were working together to remove names of women and minority voters, a claim not commented on by the poll panel.

She also accused the BJP of attempting to influence electoral outcomes through administrative means and said her party would oppose such moves.

Wider political messaging

At rallies, Banerjee criticised the BJP on multiple issues, including alleged attempts to impose policies such as NRC and restrictions on food choices in the state.

She also called on voters to support the Trinamool Congress across all constituencies, asking them to view her as the candidate in all 294 assembly seats.

There was no immediate response from the BJP or the Election Commission to the allegations.