Mamata Banerjee to hold dharna on March 6 against alleged discrepancies in WB SIR of voter lists: Abhishek Banerjee

Addressing a press conference here, Abhishek Banerjee said, "Mamata Banerjee to stage a dharna in Kolkata on 6th March against the alleged discrepancies in the SIR list."

Banerjee raised concerns over multiple inconsistencies in the final SIR list, alleging that the names of common voters were forcibly deleted to meet pre-set targets. He claimed that many people, including 243 individuals who reached out to him, were listed as dead despite being alive.

"There are many inconsistencies in the final list of SIR; the names of common voters were forcibly deleted to meet their target. The target was set in advance. That's the reason why so much harassment of the poor and common people. I have received calls from 243 people since yesterday who claim to be alive but are listed as dead on this SIR list," he said.

The TMC leader also pointed out that cabinet minister Shashi Panja and chief secretary Nandini Mukherjee were under adjudication.

"State cabinet minister Shashi Panja and chief secretary Nandini Mukherjee's name is under adjudication. How is this possible?" he asked.

Banerjee criticised the Election Commission for placing prominent figures, including Indian cricketer Richa Ghosh, MoS Gulam Rabbani, and several multi-term MLAs, under adjudication, asking rhetorically whether this meant even Amartya Sen's Nobel Prize or the Indian cricket team's World Cup should be under adjudication.

"The Supreme Court has no confidence in the Election Commission of India, which is why it had to appoint judicial officers. Name of World Cup winner Indian cricketer Richa Ghosh, MoS Gulam Rabbani, and several multi-termed MLAs have been placed under adjudication. They summoned Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Is his Nobel Prize also under adjudication? If Indian cricketer Richa Ghosh has been shown under adjudication, then does that mean the World Cup won by the Indian cricket team is also under adjudication?" he asked.

He further alleged selective exclusions from the voter lists, saying, "Names of those who do not vote for the BJP have been selectively omitted. Names of women have been selectively omitted, and many minorities' and STs' names have been deleted. The Election Commission couldn't speak about how many Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have been detected. They should apologise publicly."

The TMC leader reiterated his prediction from a year ago that the BJP's seats in the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections would fall below 50, adding that if 60 lakh voters are under adjudication, even the posts of the Prime Minister and Home Minister should be considered under adjudication.

"I still say what I said one year ago, that the BJP's seats will come below 50 after the 2026 elections. If 60 lakh people are under adjudication, then the post of Prime Minister and Home Minister also should be under adjudication," Banerjee said.

The remarks came after the ECI released the final electoral roll following the SIR of voter lists in West Bengal, stating that 5,46,053 voters have been deleted using Form 7 after the draft list was published in December 2025.

The total number of voters in West Bengal now stands at 7,04,59,284 voters (7.04 crore) as compared to 7,66,37,529 (7.66 crore) before the SIR exercise, showing a change of more than 61 lakh names in the list.

According to a press note by the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), a total of 58,20,899 Enumeration Forms were not received, as the poll body found 24,16,852 voters to be deceased, 12,20,039 absent, 19,88,076 shifted, 1,38,328 already enrolled, and 57,604 names were deleted based on other reasons.

After the ECI published the draft voter list on December 16, 2025, the poll body added a total of 1,82,036 voters to the list using Forms 6 and 6A, and made 6,671 additions by Form 8.

As per the Commission, 60,06,675 electors under adjudication were included in the final roll. (ANI)