West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has dismissed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegations of electoral manipulation, saying that the voter roll update process follows established legal protocols. The remarks came after Ms Banerjee accused the BJP of adding fake voters to influence elections in the state.
The West Bengal CEO issued a statement on social media, outlining the procedures governing electoral roll updates.
“As per RP Act 1950, Registration of Electors Rules 1960 and Manual on Electoral Rolls, concerned BLOs, AEROs, EROs, DEOs, and CEOs in any State/UT work for the updation of Electoral Rolls,” the post read. “This is done with active participation of Booth Level Agents appointed by political parties. Any specific claim or objections are to be made first before the concerned 80,633 BLOs, 3,049 AEROs and 294 EROs in West Bengal.”
The response from the election authority came in the wake of Ms Banerjee’s announcement of a committee to scrutinise alleged irregularities in voter lists across West Bengal.
“Political parties are involved in every step of making the voter list. If there is any objection from any political parties on any step, it is heard immediately. Every objection to adding or deleting names is investigated by the electoral roll officer,” election commission sources said. “The Congress raised questions about adding 48 lakh voters in Maharashtra after the elections in the state. But only one complaint made it to the CEO’s office.”
On Thursday, Ms Banerjee accused the BJP of manipulating voter lists, drawing parallels with alleged electoral malpractices in Maharashtra and Delhi. She claimed that the BJP had employed similar tactics in other states and was now attempting to do the same in West Bengal.
“Sitting in the Election Commissioner’s office, they have created a fake voter’s list online, and in every district of West Bengal, fake voters have been added,” Ms Banerjee said. “Using this trick, they have won elections in Delhi and Maharashtra. The opposition in Maharashtra could not find out these facts. Most of the fake voters are from Haryana and Gujarat. BJP is manipulating voters list with the blessing of EC, Bengal’s culture gave rise to independence.”
Ms Banerjee urged the people of West Bengal to verify their names on the voter list, warning that legitimate voters could be removed under the pretext of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
“The actual names can be removed any day in the name of NRC and CAA. It has two main objectives. One is to defeat TMC and to remove the names of persons on the list. This is being done with the blessings of the EC. Keep a watch on data operators. If anyone is at the grassroots, then it is TMC. In the 2026 Assembly polls, we have to hit the ball harder, and this would start from the voter’s list. This has to be done at the booth level. District president would have to take care of this,” she said.
To counter the alleged voter list manipulation, Ms Banerjee announced the formation of an IT Media cell, panchayat councillors, and a core committee to monitor the electoral rolls.
In response to Ms Banerjee’s concerns, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders initiated a door-to-door campaign to scrutinise the electoral rolls. The campaign, which began today, aims to identify any discrepancies in the voter list.
Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim personally participated in the verification drive in South Kolkata.
“The BJP is trying to manipulate the electoral rolls by bringing in fake voters from other states. So, along with our party workers, we are on a door-to-door visit to verify the voter list,” Mr Hakim said.
Similar verification efforts were underway in Bhabanipur, the assembly constituency of Mamata Banerjee, with local TMC leaders actively participating.
TMC leaders claimed that multiple individuals from outside West Bengal had been registered under the same Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number as genuine voters in the state. Ms Banerjee labeled these fraudulent entries as “ghost voters.”
