Have no software to add, delete voter names: WB CEO on Trinamool's electoral roll manipulation charge

 West Bengal CEO Responds to Allegations on Electoral Roll Process

PTI, April 1, 2026, Kolkata:  In the face of the allegations of Trinamool Congress of electoral roll manipulations through applications under Form 6 in the run-up to the Assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday clarified that his office had no software to add or delete names of any voter.

Form 6 is filled for the inclusion of first-time voters in the electoral rolls or for shifting a voter from one constituency to another. Agarwal said, "I want to say that this is a government office, there is a receiving section, and anyone can submit as many documents as he or she wants. There could be one lakh documents or one document submitted in a day by one person. I do not have information as the head of the office about this. There is a rule. I do not require to know who is submitting what. The documents are segregated, and then, if required, those are sent to me. I have come to know that some Form 6s have been received by us," the CEO told reporters.

He also said: "There is no such software in the CEO's office through which names can be added or deleted. If allegations arise against someone of being a fake voter, officials concerned carry out verification under the prescribed procedure, and the report is then submitted to the Election Commission."

Party supremo Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, claiming that Form 6 applications of "not genuine residents of Bengal having no legitimate connection to the state" are "illegal, unconstitutional and fundamentally undemocratic, reflecting mala fide intent and ill motive".

Agarwal's clarification on Tuesday came hours after a group of booth-level officers, perceived to be backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress, protested outside his office, alleging voter list manipulation, and scuffled with the police and BJP workers. The protest outside the CEO's office took place after Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari visited the office to lodge a complaint against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of instigating unrest, a senior police officer said.

Agarwal said the Election Commission would step in if the police fail to act in connection with the protest outside the CEO's office.