CM accuses BJP and Election Commission of deleting voter names ahead of polls
March 7, 2026: Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, on Saturday alleged that large-scale voter deletions in the post–Special Intensive Revision electoral rolls were part of a conspiracy to divide the state. Addressing supporters during a protest at Metro Channel in Kolkata, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to deprive Bengali-speaking citizens of their voting rights. The chief minister continued her sit-in for a second day, even spending the night at the protest site.
Banerjee claimed that thousands of voter names had been deleted from constituencies across the state, citing examples such as Dinhata and her own constituency Bhabanipur, where she alleged large numbers of voters were removed from the rolls. She accused the BJP of trying to weaken the state politically and warned that Bengal would strongly resist any attempt to divide it or undermine the rights of its citizens.
The protest comes just days before a full bench of the Election Commission is scheduled to visit West Bengal amid rising political tensions ahead of the assembly elections. According to official data released on February 28, around 63.66 lakh names—about 8.3 per cent of the electorate—have been removed since the revision process began, while more than 60 lakh voters have been placed under the “under adjudication” category, meaning their eligibility will be reviewed through legal scrutiny.