Mamata Banerjee Criticises Electoral Process, Announces Rehabilitation Measures in Raniganj

UNI, RANIGANJ/KOLKATA, MARCH 28, 2026 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission, accusing it of deliberately transferring experienced officers out of the state to weaken local administration and allow the BJP to exploit the situation during elections with unaccounted money, liquor, and outside interference.

"Those officers who were familiar with the local areas, 50 to 100 officers, have been sent to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This is being done so that anonymous BJP money can enter, drugs can enter, goons can enter, bulldozers can enter, and riots can be triggered," Mamata Banerjee said while speaking at a rally in Raniganj.

She also issued a message for the newly posted officers, urging them to act in the interest of the people and not under any political pressure.

"To those who have received new postings, I would say, you are part of the state administration. If you want to work properly, then look towards the people. There is no need to look at me," she said.

The Chief Minister alleged large-scale irregularities in voter lists in the SIR, claiming that names were being deleted arbitrarily and questioning the manner in which discrepancies were being identified.

"From what I am hearing, if there are 500 names in a booth, 300 are being deleted. Is this a joke? What is happening? There is always a Lakshman Rekha, but the BJP is crossing all limits, Where is the supplementary list ?" she said.

"At the very beginning, 58 lakh names were removed without even being properly examined. Then they say five lakh ‘logistical discrepancies’. What does that mean? You have made mistakes using your AI. Aren’t you ashamed? 

In her speech, Banerjee also addressed the long-standing issue of land subsidence in Raniganj and announced a major rehabilitation package for residents living in vulnerable areas.

Calling Raniganj a highly subsidence-prone region, she said the state government has already spent around ₹700 crore to construct 6,000 flats, with another 4,000 currently under construction.

She urged residents to relocate in the interest of safety, promising financial and housing support.

"Raniganj is a subsidence-prone area. We have already spent around ₹700 crore to build 6,000 flats, and another 4,000 flats are being constructed," she said.

"The government will give you not one, but two flats if you shift. The cost of shifting will also be covered. A total of ₹1 lakh per family has been allocated, and if the cost increases, it will be increased. Remember, there is no comparison between life and money," she added.

"Please think afresh. If subsidence occurs one day, thousands of people could be buried under it. We do not want that. We want to protect lives and property. I am not forcing you, I am appealing to you," she said.

The Raniganj-Asansol mining belt has witnessed frequent incidents of land subsidence, both on roads and in coal mines, often leading to protests by locals demanding rehabilitation.

Residents have repeatedly raised concerns over safety, while the Chief Minister has earlier accused the Centre of not providing adequate funds for resettlement.

Reiterating her commitment, Banerjee assured that the government would stand by the people of the region with special measures to ensure their safety and rehabilitation.

Agency: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that eight lakh voters’ names have been deleted following the publication of the first supplementary electoral roll, raising serious concerns about electoral transparency in the state.

Addressing a public meeting in Naxalbari, the Trinamool Congress chairperson said the deletions were part of the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. According to her, the eight lakh deletions are from among 27 lakh electors who had been placed under the “adjudication” category in the preliminary “final” list published on February 28.

“It was an ill-planned SIR (special intensive revision) exercise. I have been told that eight lakh names from among 27 lakh voters who were under adjudication have been deleted from the first supplementary list,” Mamata said.

She also pointed out that the process lacked transparency, stating that the supplementary lists had not yet been made publicly accessible in physical form. “So far, hard copies of the (supplementary) list have not been put up in government offices. We can verify the information only after that list is displayed,” she said.

Raising political concerns, Mamata alleged that the exercise could be linked to attempts to introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. “They plan to introduce the NRC. We will not allow the NRC in Bengal, and no detention camp would be built in the state,” she added.

The Chief Minister said her party would assist all those whose names have been deleted to ensure their re-enrolment in the electoral rolls.

Late on Monday night, the Election Commission published the first supplementary list containing around 60 lakh names of voters who had been placed under adjudication during the revision process.

The large-scale deletions have triggered concerns across several parts of West Bengal, with reports of protests and allegations of bias emerging from affected constituencies.

In Basirhat North Assembly constituency, protests erupted after 340 Muslim voters were deleted from the electoral roll of Booth No. 5 in Boro Gobra village in North 24 Parganas district.