The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, accused the BJP on Thursday of inserting fictitious voters from states such as “Haryana and Gujarat” into the electoral rolls in Bengal, allegedly with the support of the Election Commission (EC). Banerjee stated, “I possess evidence that an agency operating within Bengal is substituting the names of Bengal voters with those from other states, such as Haryana and Gujarat, while retaining the same Voter ID card numbers. This operation is being directed from Delhi.”
These accusations seem to mirror a similar claim made by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an ally of TMC’s INDIA bloc, regarding voter manipulation in Delhi ahead of their Assembly elections. It is notable that Assembly Polls are scheduled to take place in West Bengal in 2026.
of employing “the same tactics in Delhi and Maharashtra by enrolling voters from Haryana and Gujarat to sway election outcomes.”
“By using this strategy, they (BJP) achieved victories in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Delhi. You have two critical duties—defeat the BJP and ensure Bengal triumphs once more. Rest assured, we will emerge victorious again. We are Bengal, not Delhi or Maharashtra,” CM Mamata Banerjee declared to TMC workers on Thursday.
In a pointed criticism of the BJP, Mamata Banerjee directed TMC leaders and members to commence a physical verification of the voter list, alleging that the BJP had tampered with it with “the help of the Election Commission of India (ECI)”.
She cautioned that if appropriate measures were not taken to rectify the electoral rolls, her party would organize a demonstration outside the EC office.
“If I could undertake a 26-day hunger strike during the anti-land acquisition protests in 2006, then we can certainly initiate a protest against the Election Commission. If necessary, we will stage an indefinite demonstration in front of the EC office to demand the removal of fraudulent names from the voter list,” she asserted.
Mamata targets over 215 seats in the 2026 Bengal Assembly Elections
On Thursday, she declared an ambitious target of winning more than 215 out of the total 294 seats in the state assembly during the 2026 elections, stressing that the TMC aims to significantly diminish the BJP’s presence and secure a fourth consecutive term in office.
In the 2021 elections, the ruling TMC clinched 213 seats, providing a comfortable majority, whereas the BJP secured 77 seats. With the elections for 2026 approaching, the TMC is striving to strengthen its support base and counter the challenge posed by the BJP.
“I concur with Abhishek (TMC MP and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee) that we should target at least one more seat than our tally in 2021. Our objective should be to achieve 215 seats or more while ensuring that candidates from the BJP, CPI(M), and Congress grapple to retain their deposits,” Banerjee emphasized.
