Mamata Banerjee accuses BJP, Election Commission of manipulating voter lists in Delhi, Maharashtra
The CM accused the Hindutva party of hiring two agencies to add fake voters from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana to West Bengal’s electoral rolls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of adding fake voters to electoral lists to win the recent Assembly polls in Delhi and Maharashtra, reported The Telegraph.
Banerjee also accused the Hindutva party of hiring two agencies, Association of Billion Minds and India 360, to allegedly add residents of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana to West Bengal’s voter lists.
“The people working for these agencies have not conducted any field surveys,” Banerjee said at a meeting of Trinamool Congress workers in Kolkata, brandishing what she claimed was a list fake voters who had obtained election identity cards in West Bengal.
“The cat is out of the bag now,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by The Telegraph. “This is how the BJP is manipulating the voters’ list with the blessings of the Election Commission. This has been exposed now. It is your responsibility to stop fake voters being included in the voters’ list.”
The chief minister asserted that she would not allow this alleged voter manipulation to take place in West Bengal, which will have its next Assembly election in 2026.
“If the BJP succeeds in its nefarious plans that would mean the end of Bengal’s culture,” Banerjee said. “We respect guests, but we won’t allow outsiders to occupy Bengal. This is not Delhi or Maharashtra. This is being done with the blessings of the EC.”
Banerjee added that the BJP was eyeing West Bengal after winning Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Delhi, but added her party would respond strongly. “Once again, ‘khela hobe’ [games will be played],” she said. “I ask workers to hit the ball harder this time.”
The Trinamool Congress chief also accused the Hindutva party of allegedly trying to influence electoral processes in the country by rushing to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the new chief election commissioner, The New Indian Express reported.
Kumar’s appointment came hours after the meeting of the selection committee in which Rahul Gandhi asked the Union government to defer the appointment until the Supreme Court decides on petitions challenging the selection process under a new law.
