Mamata Banerjee Accuses BJP of Voter Manipulation Ahead of West Bengal Elections

As West Bengal gears up for assembly elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has leveled serious accusations against the BJP, claiming they intend to cancel the names of 1.5 crore voters. During a meeting with Trinamool Congress workers, she expressed concerns over the integrity of the electoral process, alleging that the BJP is trying to import voters from outside the state. With the Election Commission's recent updates to the voter list, Banerjee's claims raise significant questions about the upcoming elections and the potential impact on democracy in the state. Read on to discover more about her allegations and the political landscape in West Bengal.

By Narendra Chaudhary Dec 22, 2025, 20:08 IST

Mamata Banerjee's Strong Allegations Against BJP

As the assembly elections in West Bengal approach, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee intensified her criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday. She claimed that the opposition party aims to cancel the names of 1.5 crore voters in the state. Banerjee made these remarks while presiding over a meeting of booth-level workers of the Trinamool Congress at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

She accused the BJP of attempting to bring in outsiders for the elections, stating, "They want to erase the names of 1.5 crore voters. Their goal is to destroy democracy... I observed 50 motorcycles registered in Bihar arriving in Bardhaman yesterday. They are trying to import people for the elections... All booth-level agents should consult with MLAs, councilors, and block presidents regarding election campaigning. The mapping done by the Election Commission is completely flawed. Have they considered the delimitation after 2002? The Election Commission is responsible for 46 deaths. Furthermore, there is no correlation between the 2002 electoral list and the current EPIC numbers."

Voter List Updates and Concerns

Following a special intensive revision of the voter lists in West Bengal, the Election Commission published a draft voter list on December 16, which removed 58,20,899 voters (7.59 percent) due to death, disappearance, or permanent migration. According to a press release from the Election Commission, out of a total of 7,66,37,529 voters, 7,08,16,630 had submitted their enumeration forms by December 11.

The Election Commission stated that from December 16 to January 15, 2026, actual voters could be re-added to the voter list during the claims and objections period. Previously, Banerjee had alleged that the SIR process, initiated just months before the elections, was being used to destabilize the state government. She proposed a compensation of 2 lakh rupees for the families of the deceased and 1 lakh rupees for those hospitalized, accusing the central government of selectively implementing the SIR in non-BJP ruled states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.