‘It’s BJP vs people of Bengal’: Abhishek’s election call as he parades 9 ‘dead’ voters
Times of India | 14 January 2026
Kolkata: Framing the upcoming electoral contest as "BJP versus the people of Bengal", Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said at a public rally in Cooch Behar on Tuesday, urging voters to ensure a complete rout of BJP in the district. He also paraded nine voters marked "dead" in the SIR draft list.
"I am presenting some people in front of you. Among them are Ashwini Adhikari, Shivani Adhikari, Kajima Khatun, Aliman Bewa, Mukul Dev Karmakar, Murshid Alam, Abujar Miya, Ajijar Rahman and Tapan Burma. Can you see all of them? They were all born in Cooch Behar. They are all from this district. The Election Commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar declared them dead. Their names were deleted from the electoral rolls. Will the people not respond to such injustice?" Banerjee said while addressing the crowd at the Kadamtala rally and claimed that nearly 3.5 lakh voters in Cooch Behar had faced scrutiny under the label of "logical discrepancies".
Banerjee accused Centre of trying to silence Bengal by blocking developmental funds and attempting to take away people's voting rights at the same time. Targeting the CEC directly, the Diamond Harbour MP reminded people that while elected representatives were accountable to voters, nominated officials were not.
Calling SIR a ‘vote-bandi' exercise, Banerjee asked party workers to ensure that all who had received SIR notices found their names on the final voter list. Reminding people of demonetisation, the MP said people were once again being made to stand in queues, this time to defend their suffrage. He also said BJP had no moral right to govern if voters were branded illegal. Banerjee also endorsed recent remarks by Rajbanshi neta and BJP Rajya Sabha member Anant Maharaj, who had accused BJP of targeting indigenous communities.
The MP accused BJP of failing to deliver on multiple promises made in Cooch Behar since 2014, including infrastructure projects and cultural initiatives. He said the district had instead faced neglect and humiliation after BJP netas won elections. Highlighting state govt's initiatives, Banerjee announced that nearly Rs 350 crore had been allocated for new roads under Pathashree and Rastashree schemes, with work expected to begin shortly. He added that Trinamool would take the battle to Delhi and pledged to personally oversee the district's development.
CEO seeks report over ‘dead' voters
Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal has asked for a report from the DM of Cooch Behar over the allegations made by Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee about nine men shown "dead" in EC records. Banerjee paraded the electors during his Tuesday rally.