TMC moves Calcutta High Court over Election Commission’s arrest ‘list’ of party workers
Telegraph | 21 April 2026
West Bengal is heading into the first phase of assembly elections on April 23, with a fresh legal dispute in the Calcutta High Court over allegations linked to possible arrests of Trinamool Congress workers.
Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee moved the court on Monday seeking urgent judicial intervention. He has raised concerns over a list that includes party workers who could face arrest ahead of polling, according to him.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Pal and Justice Parthasarathy Sen has allowed the petition to be filed.
The hearing is expected next Wednesday.
In court, Kalyan Banerjee said, “There is a strong fear of arrest of those Trinamool workers, so the court needs to intervene in this matter immediately.”
The Commission is said to have prepared a list of nearly 1,000 individuals called “troublemakers.”
This list includes Trinamool MLAs, candidates and councillors, reported The Telegraph. It was reportedly shared informally with senior police officers through WhatsApp via poll panel “police observers,” along with oral instructions to take action.
Police have not acted on the list so far, pointing to the absence of written directions from the Commission.
Among the names mentioned are Behala Purba candidate Ratna Chatterjee, Kasba councillor Sushanta Ghosh, Paresh Paul from Beleghata, and Swarup Biswas, brother of Aroop Biswas.
The Trinamool Congress has said its workers are being selectively targeted. Party leaders argue this could affect ground-level election work.
It is not clear if those in the list fall under the category of preventive detention.
Preventive detention is a legal mechanism in India used to detain individuals without trial to prevent potential threats to public order, often intensified before elections to curb violence.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking at a rally in Murarai on Monday, said, “They have planned to arrest many before the elections. I have got the list. We will also go to court and you should know that we will fight every case inch by inch. The list that has been released in the name of the Election Commission, I got the list from somewhere, through a media outlet. It has targeted only the Trinamool Congress. All the Trinamool Congress are thieves! And all the BJP saints?”
At a separate meeting in Khandaghosh, East Burdwan, she said, “Remember during the voting that everything has been placed under the control of the Election Commission. We have nothing in our hands. But we have only 15-21 days after the voting, so you should guard it well. Then we will understand, then we will fight. We will build again, we will win again. And I will tell the BJP, ‘See how it feels’.”