Stop ‘bickerings’, says Abhishek; TMC lays out plan to battle ‘fake voter plot’
Times of India | 16 March 2025
1234 Kolkata: Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee used Saturday's virtual meeting with the party leadership regarding voter list revision to send out a stern message to bickering factions and set "goals" that needed to be achieved in the run-up to the 2026 assembly polls.
"There are several functionaries who are harming the party by belittling others. Do not endanger the party. I know who was in contact with whom during the elections," he said.
Banerjee warned TMC's East Midnapore netas to stop squabbling and announced a separate meet with them soon, making it clear that the party has set its heart in winning majority seats in this politically sensitive district.
"We lost Contai due to internal conflicts (in LS polls). We could have won had we put in our full efforts." Referring to West Midnapore, he said: "People of West Midnapore didn't misunderstand us. Why did people of the neighbouring district do so?"
Banerjee cited examples from several areas, including Balurghat, Dabgram-Fulbari, Malda in north Bengal, and Krishnanagar North, Ranaghat and Arambagh in south Bengal where TMC trailed in 2024. He also mentioned two assembly seats in Kolkata: Jorasanko and Chowringhee. Both fall under North Kolkata Lok Sabha constituency, where the long-time MP is party senior Sudip Bandyopadhyay.
Banerjee said some organizational district and block president positions would soon be changed, with performance being the indicator.
Summing up the meeting, Banerjee said: "India's democracy is under siege. BJP, in collusion with the Election Commission of India, has hatched a conspiracy to disenfranchise Bengal's electorate. Multiple voters, primarily from BJP-ruled states, have been assigned the same EPIC number in Bengal, a sinister plot to plant fake voters and manipulate the 2026 assembly elections. We have laid out a comprehensive plan to democratically counteract this fraud."
TMC also announced the creation of new organisational posts — block/town/ward and booth-level electoral roll supervisors — to ensure that there was proper scrutiny of electoral rolls. The party also gave a call to set up district, block, town, anchal, ward and booth-level committees between March 20 and April 14 that will be tasked with voter verification.
"In Delhi, just before the assembly elections in Feb, over 4 lakh new voters were added in just eight months. Same was the case in Maharashtra that went to polls last Oct. They added 39 lakh voters in just four months," he alleged.
Banerjee also warned against any possible extortion in the name of his office. "A conspiracy has been going on using my office's name promising posts. Do not entertain anyone from Abhishek Banerjee's office if there is no prior information. Any necessary verification can be done through 8142681426," he said.