Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing it of attempting to manipulate West Bengal’s electoral roll ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.Addressing a rally in Balurghat in support of TMC candidate Arpita Ghosh, Banerjee alleged a “conspiracy to change Bengal’s demography”, claiming that voters from BJP-ruled states were being brought into the state. “Efforts are being made to ensure that the people of Bengal cannot exercise their democratic rights. Voters are being brought into different parts of Bengal from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” he said, adding that he had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission.The TMC national general secretary also turned his fire on the BJP’s governance record in Balurghat, represented by a BJP MP and MLA for over five years. Without naming Union minister Sukanta Majumdar, he challenged the party to present a “report card”. “No one has experienced the so-called double-engine government more than the people of Balurghat… yet they have not been able to bring even 10 paise of additional funds or development,” he said.Banerjee contrasted this with the state government’s welfare schemes, pointing to initiatives such as Lakshmir Bhandar, Pathashree and Yuva Sathi. He claimed that benefits under these schemes had reached people directly, adding that funds under Yuva Sathi were transferred within 15 days of announcement. Taking aim at BJP promises to expand financial assistance schemes, he said, “I challenge them to first implement such a scheme in any BJP-ruled state… if they can do that, I will stop campaigning for the TMC.”The attack was echoed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who alleged that the BJP was attempting to include “illegal voters” from states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana in Bengal’s electoral rolls. She claimed that thousands of applications had been submitted in a single day and accused the party of using similar tactics elsewhere.Mamata Banerjee also accused the BJP of colluding with the Election Commission and deleting names of genuine voters, particularly women and minorities, during the revision process. She described the exercise as “illegal, unconstitutional and fundamentally undemocratic”, warning that people would resist any attempt to “squeeze in illegal voters”.
