Bengal chief minister blames Mamata for 27 lakh voter-roll deletions

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has blamed former chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the deletion of 27 lakh names from the state’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Adhikari said neither the Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Election Commission was responsible for the exclusions. He claimed that judicial officers made the decisions in accordance with directions from the Supreme Court in a case filed by Banerjee.

“The responsibility for the deletion of 27 lakh names lies with Mamata Banerjee, not the BJP or the Election Commission,” Adhikari said. He accused the former chief minister of attempting to shift responsibility after losing the Assembly elections. The remarks came amid renewed political conflict over the revision.

Banerjee’s party has alleged that genuine voters were removed from the rolls and has demanded that their names be restored. Adhikari also questioned Banerjee’s criticism of the exercise by comparing West Bengal with Kerala. He cited the results of the Assembly election, saying his side had won 208 seats while the Trinamool Congress and its allies had 80, and accused Banerjee of refusing to accept the electorate’s verdict.

His comments followed a rally addressed by Banerjee at Serampore, where she renewed her criticism of the Election Commission and the BJP over the voter-list revision. Adhikari also referred to a meeting involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. He said the meeting and a subsequent statement indicated that decisions on the Bengal exercise had not been taken by the chief election commissioner alone.

The Election Commission has maintained that differences during internal deliberations are normal and that its final decisions were unanimous.