Sat Dec 27 14:23:38 UTC 2025: Summary:
Abhishek Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress National General Secretary, is challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to appoint micro observers in West Bengal during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. He questions why West Bengal was singled out when it had the lowest voter deletion rate compared to other states. Banerjee demands the ECI publish a list of alleged “infiltrators” and explain discrepancies in the voter list, accusing the ECI of harassing the people of West Bengal and instilling fear. He plans to meet with the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi on December 31st and threaten protests if his questions are not answered. He also questions why the SIR process was not extended to other states bordering Bangladesh.
News Article:
TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Accuses ECI of Targeting West Bengal, Demands Transparency on Voter Lists
Kolkata, December 27, 2025 – Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee has launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing the body of unfairly targeting West Bengal during the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Banerjee, the second-in-command in the Trinamool Congress, questioned the rationale behind the ECI’s decision to appoint micro observers in West Bengal, highlighting that the state had the lowest number of voter deletions (5.79%) compared to states like Tamil Nadu (12.57%) and Gujarat (9.95%).
“Why were micro observers appointed here and not in other states where there were massive deletions?” Banerjee questioned, adding that the SIR process was simply a tactic to “harass” the people of West Bengal.
The TMC leader, responding to past BJP claims of over one crore “infiltrators” in West Bengal, demanded the ECI publish a list of alleged infiltrators from the 58 lakh deleted voters. He further challenged the ECI to clarify discrepancies involving 1.36 crore voters flagged in the “logical discrepancies” category.
“Why is the EC scared to publish the list?” Banerjee asked. “If cleaning the voter list is your goal, then publish the names.”
Banerjee announced his intention to travel to New Delhi on December 31st to meet with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and press these issues. He warned that if the ECI fails to provide satisfactory answers, the party will “gherao” the ECI office and launch protests.
He further questioned why the SIR process was not extended to other states bordering Bangladesh like Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, to identify alleged “Bangladeshi infiltrators.”
Banerjee vowed to take the issue to the streets starting January 2nd, promising to inform the people of West Bengal about the perceived injustices. The party is demanding an apology from the ECI for allegedly instilling unnecessary fear among the public. The ECI has yet to respond to these allegations.
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