BJP using Form 6 to smuggle outsiders into poll rolls: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA/CHANDRAKONA: BJP, in collusion with the Election Commission, had hatched a "grave conspiracy" to manipulate Bengal's electoral rolls ahead of the assembly election, CM Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday.

In a letter addressed to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Banerjee accused BJP of submitting thousands of fraudulent Form 6 applications to smuggle "outsiders" into the voters' list. She also took to X, saying that BJP agents had been caught "red-handed" while trying to flood the office of the CEO with bulk applications. She said the tactics were similar to those employed by BJP in Maharashtra and Delhi to "hijack" mandates.




In her letter to EC, Banerjee wrote: "Credible reports indicate that large numbers of Form 6 applications are being submitted by BJP agents at the office of the CEO and across several districts. These do not seem to be routine applications but a mischievous ploy to include non-residents who have no legitimate connection to Bengal."

"This is not only illegal and against the orders of the Supreme Court but also a direct assault on free and fair elections," she wrote, demanding an immediate halt to the exercise. Demanding that no new names be added after the final electoral roll publication of Feb 28, the CM said administrative officers didn't have the authority to decide on such inclusions.

Hours after dispatching the letter, Banerjee spoke on this at a rally in West Midnapore's Chandrakona. Saying that about 30,000 Form 6 applications had been submitted in six hours, she said: "Abhishek (Banerjee) told me about this, and I was astonished. They are adding voters from Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana and UP. In Bihar, people were brought in trains to vote. They want to repeat that here. They plan to bring outsiders into places like Asansol and Kharagpur to capture votes and form a double-engine govt."

Urging voters to be vigilant, the CM said that BJP's ultimate goal was to "destroy and dismantle" the identity of Bengal through demographic interference.

Alleging that BJP was using SIR as a backdoor to bring in NRC, Banerjee said: "Names are still being deleted. You might have your name on the list today, but you might find yourself unable to cast your vote on polling day." She added: "How is it possible that two members of a family are on the list while three others are struck off? Had we not fought, they would have removed 5 crore electors." The CM vowed that her govt would never allow detention camps in Bengal.

Accusing EC of overstepping its mandate, the CM said "direct oversight" by the poll panel amounted to an "unwritten President's Rule" in the state. "They have taken every power of the govt through backdoor politics. I have no information regarding what the officials, hand-picked by the EC, are doing. But I believe the people are with me. Bengal will not allow its democracy to be stolen in broad daylight."