Mamata alleges EC–BJP nexus over deletions in state’s post-SIR rolls

PTI, March 2, 2026, Kolkata :  Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a blistering attack on the EC over deletions in the post-SIR rolls, alleging a "nexus" between the poll panel and the BJP to disenfranchise genuine voters, and help the saffron party in the upcoming assembly elections. Mamata, in her first reaction after the publication of West Bengal's post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on February 28, claimed that the deletions had been carried out "deliberately by the BJP and the EC" to tilt the electoral balance in its favour in the polls. "The Election Commission has deliberately deleted genuine voters. I am shocked. This is a very sad and inhumane state of affairs," she said.

The post-SIR rolls recorded 63.66 lakh deletions, 8.3 per cent of the electorate, reducing the voter base to a little over 7.04 crore. More than 60.06 lakh voters have also been placed in the "under adjudication" category, subject to scrutiny in the coming weeks, marking the most sweeping electoral reset in the state since 2002. Assembly elections are likely in the state in April. Claiming that even her own Bhabanipur constituency had witnessed "massive deletions", Mamata asserted that she would emerge victorious regardless of the scale of the revision. "Despite massive deletions in my Bhabanipur constituency, I will win even if there is one voter left," she said at a public programme here.

At the heart of the controversy lies Bhabanipur, widely regarded as Banerjee's pocket borough and the constituency she represents in the assembly. "Bhabanipur is a small constituency. There were only about 2.6 lakh voters. Earlier, 44,000 were excluded. This time, 14,000 more were placed 'under adjudication', and also around 2,000 because of so-called logistical discrepancies. Where are these voters? Why are they missing?"