‘Vote Theft Happening In Bengal’: TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Attacks Poll Body Over SIR, BJP Hits Back

Last Updated:December 31, 2025, 21:13 IST

Abhishek Banerjee accused the Election Commission of selectively targeting West Bengal and conspiring to malign the state by raising what he called the "bogey of infiltration".

Abhishek Banerjee alleged that “vote chori” in elections was taking place through the voter list and not through electronic voting machines.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar lost his temper and pointed fingers at his 10-member party delegation while raising concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said that they raised several concerns around the draft voter list with the Election Commission, including the summoning of 1.36 crore voters, but CEC Kumar was “aggressive" during the meeting.

“When we started talking, he (CEC) started losing his temper… I said you are nominated, I am elected… If he has the guts, he should release the footage," he said as quoted by news agency PTI.

He said the poll body failed to address his party’s concerns and asserted that the TMC would not accept the final voter list if it contained discrepancies.

Banerjee alleged that “vote chori" in elections was taking place through the voter list and not through electronic voting machines. Without naming the BJP, he claimed that opposition parties could have won elections in states such as Maharashtra, Haryana and Bihar if they had aggressively raised the issue earlier.

Addressing concerns over voter list revisions, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of selectively targeting West Bengal and conspiring to malign the state by raising what he called the “bogey of infiltration". He further challenged the EC to release details of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas among the 58 lakh voters whose names have been deleted from the draft electoral roll.

Banerjee also questioned the EC’s decision to introduce a new category termed “logical discrepancies" to summon voters for hearings over issues such as a mismatch of names or questionable age gaps. He said the TMC had urged the Commission that senior citizens, persons with disabilities and those with comorbidities should not be called for hearings and should be given the option of home hearings.

Alleging that electoral rolls were being “weaponised," Banerjee appealed to like-minded opposition parties to focus on voter lists. “Earlier, voters used to decide the government; now the government is deciding the voters," he said.

BJP Reacts

The BJP strongly criticised Banerjee’s remarks, with Rupa Ganguly questioning the reason behind the protests over the SIR exercise being conducted across the country.

“It’s not only in West Bengal where SIR is happening. Then why such hooliganism here only? That’s the big question. I feel ashamed," she said.

Another BJP leader, Shishir Bajoria, said the TMC was creating an unnecessary controversy as it feared defeat. “First, he should get his designation correct. TMC is no longer a national party. They know they will lose, that’s why they are doing this," Bajoria said.

News politics ‘Vote Theft Happening In Bengal’: TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Attacks Poll Body Over SIR, BJP Hits Back

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