A DELEGATION of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday met the chief electoral officer (CEO) of West Bengal, demanding that “unique ID” be introduced on voter cards to prevent the induction of fake voters in the electoral rolls.
Earlier in the day, a TMC core committee, constituted by party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, convened a meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue of “ghost” voter cards in the state.
However, the party’s second-in-command and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, as well as Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, were absent in the meeting. The TMC’s state president, Subrata Baksi, pointed out that Abhishek Banerjee has called a separate meeting on March 15 to discuss the same issue. All MLAs, MPs and block presidents of the party would attend that meeting, said Baksi.
After the meeting on Thursday, state ministers
Firhad Hakim, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Aroop Biswas, state president Subrata Baksi and MP Ritabrata Banerjee went to the Election Commission of India office and submitted a memorandum to CEO Dibyendu Das.
In the meeting earlier, TMC leaders and district functionaries reviewed findings of a door-to-door scrutiny of electoral rolls, alleging that the BJP has been manipulating the voters’ list ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, with a focus on addressing detected irregularities and finalising the party’s strategy to counter the issue.
The TMC delegation that called on the CEO was led by the party’s state president Subrata Bakshi and included state ministers Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Chandrima Bhattacharya, and Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee.
After submitting the memorandum, Firhad Hakim said, “The BJP is trying to turn elections in West Bengal into a farce. It is unacceptable for the same EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) number to exist across different states. Just as Aadhaar and passports have unique identification numbers, voter cards too must have a unique ID.”
Hakim added that this marks the beginning of a new movement under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership for voter card reform, similar to her 1993 demand for photo identification in elections.
He accused the BJP of manipulating voter lists to gain power in Delhi and Maharashtra by adding fake voters. The BJP, however, has dismissed the TMC’s allegations as “baseless”.
Citing “data from the Delhi Assembly polls of 2020 and 2025”, Hakim claimed that the number of voters increased abnormally in a short span, similar to the voter surge in West Bengal from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to date.
“The growth in voters in Delhi over five years was almost identical to the rise in West Bengal in just seven months. This is unnatural,” he remarked.
Hakim also emphasised the need for physical verification of voter names added online and urged the Election Commission to ensure that electors from other states do not cast their votes in West Bengal.
Hakim told mediapersons, “We have specifically demanded that when someone appeals online, he will have to appear physically for verification. Also, all voters must also have a unique ID such as passport, PAN card or Aadhaar card. Unless this is ensured, we will launch a protest movement against the Election Commission of India.”
During Thursday’s meeting, it was also decided that on the lines of the state core committee, the TMC would set up committees in each district too. These committees would monitor the work for identifying the fake names in the voter list, party leaders said.
Simultaneously, the TMC has decided to identify the names in the voter rolls who are not voters in West Bengal and the names that are wrongfully deleted from the voter list. Also, at the grassroots level, in every area, TMC workers will be directed to scrutinise the voter list and cross-check all names, party sources said.
Last week, CM Banerjee accused the BJP of inserting “outsider” voters into the electoral rolls with alleged backing from the Election Commission. She claimed that the BJP had used similar tactics in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi in previous elections.
Following that, TMC state president Subrata Bakshi issued directives to district-level leaders to conduct a thorough verification of voter lists.
The verification process was completed within 10 days and district presidents and chairpersons reported their findings during Thursday’s meeting.
A special committee, formed by Mamata Banerjee to oversee the matter, includes senior leaders such as Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, and others.
At a rally in Durgapur on Wednesday, TMC MP Kirti Azad alleged that the BJP had used the Election Commission to manipulate electoral processes in other states.
State BJP leader Agnimitra Pal dismissed the TMC’s claims, which she termed as “baseless”, saying that people are aware of the party that is “genuinely leading the country’s progress.”
The chief electoral officer of West Bengal, responding to Mamata Banerjee’s allegations, pointed out that the voter list updation process is being carried out with the active participation of booth level officers (BLOs) appointed by political parties. The CEO urged parties to raise specific concerns with BLOs, assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs), and electoral registration officers (EROs). – WITH PTI