Mamata Banerjee Protests Against Voter List Manipulation in West Bengal

Ongoing Protests by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has continued her protest for the second consecutive day against the alleged arbitrary removal of names from voter lists following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). She had previously spent the night at the protest site.

Banerjee initiated her demonstration on Friday at the Metro Channel in central Kolkata, accusing the Election Commission of conspiring with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to disenfranchise voters in Bengal ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

Accompanying the Chief Minister at the protest were senior leaders from the Trinamool Congress, legislators, and party workers, transforming the busy Esplanade area into a temporary political camp.

While addressing her supporters on Friday afternoon, Banerjee claimed that a significant number of genuine voters were being removed from the electoral rolls under the SIR process.

Allegations of Incorrectly Declaring Voters Deceased

Voters Wrongly Declared Dead

Banerjee reiterated her accusation that many voters have been 'wrongly declared dead.' She stated that she would present these individuals to the media and the Election Commission to expose the issue. She described this as an attempt to manipulate the voter list to assist the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections.

Senior leaders from the Trinamool Congress and state ministers were present at the protest site, where party supporters had gathered since morning.

This demonstration is taking place amid rising political tensions regarding amendments to the voter list, just days before the Election Commission's full bench is scheduled to visit West Bengal.

According to official figures released by the Election Commission on February 28, approximately 6.366 million individuals, or about 8.3% of voters, have had their names removed since the SIR process began last November, reducing the voter base from around 76.6 million to just over 70.4 million.

Additionally, over 6.006 million voters have been categorized as 'under judicial scrutiny,' meaning their eligibility will be determined through legal investigations in the coming weeks.