Didi to hit the streets against voter deletions on March 6

Kolkata: CM Mamata Banerjee is set to hit the streets against the "forced deletion of Bengal voters" following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's electoral roll on March 6. Banerjee will hold a dharna at the Metro Channel — the site where she held her 26-day hunger strike in 2006. The CM will announce the subsequent steps of the agitation from the protest dais, Trinamool's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said on Sunday.Abhishek further said he would move the Supreme Court because Election Commission and BJP activists were allegedly trying to intimidate judicial officers. "Judicial officers are being threatened over phone calls. At least 20 officers have told me they have received threats from EC observers. Who authorised this?" he asked. Abhishek flagged an alleged rise in Form 7 deletions and a sharp drop in voter inclusions in what he said was an act of tailoring data in favour of BJP. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Bengal SIR matter again on March 10.
"The total deletion was 5,46,053 voters using Form 7. A bulletin was issued on the X handle of the CEO West Bengal on Jan 19 and 20, 2026, which were the final days to submit Form 7. On Jan 19, the EC bulletin published at 7:06 pm mentioned 41,961 Form 7 applications. On Jan 20, the CEO's office released data showing 42,251. However, as per the update issued on Saturday, the count of Form 7 stood at 5,46,053. How were an additional five lakh added? This is our first question, and we will place all our arguments before the SC," Abhishek said.He alleged: "Regarding Form 6, notifications issued on Jan 19 and 20 stated that 6,33,762 applications were received. Yesterday, the figure was shown as 1,82,036. Where did the rest go? Five lakh voters were deleted and four lakh Form 6 applications were not accepted — meaning nine lakh votes were manipulated.""Richa Ghosh, a World Cup-winning Indian cricketer, was placed under the adjudication category. Is this a ‘minor' issue for CEO Manoj Agarwal? Is the World Cup trophy under adjudication as well? Notices were sent to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and cricketer Md Shami. Dr Shashi Panja, a state minister, and chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty also found their names under adjudication. BJP is trying to strip the voting rights of people who lived in Bengal for generations simply because they do not vote for the BJP," Abhishek added. Going into specifics, Abhishek said that in 2021, BJP secured 18,000 votes in Malda's Sujapur. "Today, 1.3 lakh — nearly 90% — are under adjudication. In Ratua, BJP got 57,000 votes, while one lakh voters are under adjudication.""In Malatipur, BJP got 36,156 votes, yet 94,737 are under adjudication. In Harishchandrapur, the BJP got 49,000 votes, while 91,000 are under adjudication. In Mothabari, BJP got 43,000 votes, and nearly 80,000 are under adjudication. These are just five examples from Malda," said Abhishek."In Murshidabad, the trend is similar. In Raghunathganj, BJP got 27,000 votes, but 1.15 lakh are under adjudication. In Bhagwangola, BJP got 18,490 votes, while 1.1 lakh are under adjudication. In Samsherganj, Suti, and Lalgola, over one lakh voters are under adjudication in each segment," he said. He added: "In an average assembly, roughly two lakh voters reside. With 80% polling, 1.6 lakh votes are cast. If 1.5 lakh voters are kept under adjudication, how can elections be fair? The EC should disclose how many Rohingya or Bangladeshis it identified. Since it failed to do so, it must publicly apologise to the people of Bengal."