West Bengal Electoral Officer refutes Mamata Banerjee’s claims of voter list manipulation
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West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has rejected Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegations of electoral fraud, asserting that the voter roll update process adheres strictly to legal procedures.
This response comes after Banerjee accused the BJP of tampering with voter lists to influence elections in the state.
The election authority, in a statement on social media, detailed the process governing electoral roll revisions, citing the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The CEO clarified that voter list updates involve multiple levels of verification, with active participation from Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and political party representatives.
"Any claims or objections regarding the electoral rolls must first be addressed to the 80,633 BLOs, 3,049 AEROs, and 294 EROs operating in West Bengal," the post read.
The clarification follows Mamata Banerjee’s announcement that a dedicated committee will investigate alleged discrepancies in the voter rolls. She accused the BJP of using fraudulent means to add fake voters, claiming similar tactics had been employed in Maharashtra and Delhi.
"From the Election Commission’s office, they have created a fake voter list online, adding fraudulent names across West Bengal," she alleged. "This strategy helped them win in Delhi and Maharashtra. Now, they are attempting to replicate it here with the Election Commission’s backing."
She also urged citizens to check the voter lists to ensure their names were not removed under the pretext of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
"The real goal is to weaken the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and selectively remove voters’ names. This is being done with the EC’s support. We must closely monitor the data entry process and fight back at the grassroots level," Banerjee said, calling for vigilance ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
In response to these allegations, TMC leaders have launched a door-to-door verification campaign to identify discrepancies in the voter rolls. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim personally participated in the campaign in South Kolkata, accusing the BJP of registering outsiders as voters in Bengal.
Similar verification efforts are ongoing in Bhabanipur, Mamata Banerjee’s constituency, where TMC leaders claim to have discovered multiple instances of outsiders being assigned Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers identical to those of genuine voters.
To combat alleged electoral irregularities, Banerjee has announced the formation of an IT media cell, a dedicated team of panchayat councillors, and a core committee to oversee voter roll monitoring.