West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the Election Commission of India for allegedly removing voters selectively from Assembly constituencies with Trinamool Congress legislators. She claimed that while 3,000 to 4,000 voters were deleted in constituencies with BJP legislators, the numbers ranged from 40,000 to 1,00,000 in Trinamool Congress areas. Banerjee specifically mentioned her constituency, Bhabanipur, where 40,000 names were deleted with a target of 1,00,000 deletions.
Banerjee accused the ECI’s Director General (Information Technology), Seema Khanna, of leading the deletion of genuine voters in West Bengal. She referred to Khanna as an agent of the BJP working within the ECI. Banerjee also criticized the ECI for unilaterally deleting 58 lakh names from the draft voters’ list without consulting electoral registration officers, raising concerns about the fairness of the process.
The Chief Minister alleged that the BJP was influencing the ECI to target Trinamool Congress, as they might struggle to compete democratically and politically. She criticized the central investigating agencies, such as the CBI and ED, for allegedly harassing opposition leaders, businessmen, and ordinary citizens. Banerjee emphasized that while she does not blame the agencies, she opposes their misuse by the ruling party.
Banerjee questioned the ECI’s handling of the voter revision exercise, suggesting that the unplanned process led to deaths. She recounted an incident where the Chief Election Commissioner allegedly misbehaved with her delegation during a meeting. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also criticized the CEC for not responding to Banerjee’s letters, highlighting what he perceived as arrogance on the part of the Election Commission.
