‘CEC became the villain of this election’: Mamata escalates attack after defeat; accuses BJP, EC of ‘looting 100 seats’
The Statesman | 6 May 2026
Outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the election process following her party’s defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections, alleging large-scale irregularities and accusing the Election Commission of undermining democratic rights.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief claimed that her party had not genuinely lost the mandate and alleged that nearly 100 seats were “forcibly taken away.” She accused the Chief Election Commissioner of acting as a “villain” in the polls and questioned the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs), raising concerns over unusually high battery levels after voting.
Mamata said, “…CEC became the villain of this election to loot the democratic rights of the people. And to loot the EVM machine, can you tell me that after voting, how the EVM machine is 80 to 95% charged? How is it possible?”
Mamata alleged that the elections were influenced by coordinated actions involving the Election Commission of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party, claiming there was “direct interference” from top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. She said, “…BJP played the game directly with the Election Commission. It is betting you can say. We fought against the entire machinery where the Prime Minister and the Home Minister are also involved… I have never seen such an election in my life,” Mamata said, calling the process “dirty, nasty and mischievous.”
She further alleged that authorities carried out widespread arrests and raids targeting her party workers in the days leading up to polling. According to Mamata, administrative reshuffles, including the replacement of IAS and IPS officers, were intended to influence the outcome. “Two days before the election, they started arresting our people like anything. They started raids everywhere…,” she said.
The TMC leader also raised concerns over voter rolls, claiming that nearly 90 lakh names were deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. She said that while 32 lakh names were restored following court intervention, discrepancies remained, with additional names allegedly added without transparency.
The 2026 West Bengal Assembly election saw a decisive victory for the BJP, marking a major political shift in the state and ending the TMC’s long-standing hold on power.