Mamata Banerjee’s outrageous ‘Mir Jafar’ attack on Amit Shah and outburst over voter list purification drive reveals TMC’s fear of losing illegitimate voters
The Election Commission’s initiative to purify voter lists of fraudulent voters to strengthen the democratic process of elections has been facing relentless resistance from the opposition parties. After the successful execution of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive in Bihar, which aimed to eradicate bogus voters despite loud protests and baseless accusations of “vote theft” and “disenfranchisement” from the I.N.D.I. Alliance, the electoral authority is set to replicate this significant exercise in West Bengal.
Predictably, the move has angered the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITC/TMC) which mirroring the rest of the opposition has turned to making outrageous statements and violent threats despite the clear lack of evidence to support their allegations. Nevertheless, the attack from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee provoked a scathing response from Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.
BJP leaders launch stinging counter-attack
On 9th October Amit Malviya, member of party’s national executive and co-incharge of West Bengal lashed out at the TMC leader for “crossing all limits of political and constitutional propriety.” He highlighted that she publicly threatened riots and other troubles if the SIR was carried out in the state, while she was in the state secretariat in Nabanna. He wrote that she even went so far as to ask for the death of a purported “Mir Jafar” who was seated in Delhi.
“She did not hesitate to malign the institutions of the Government of India,” Malviya pointed out. He maintained that the only hope and support that TMC retains currently is provided by Rohingyas and illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh. He charged that the party is in power due to their votes. “Mamata Banerjee knows very well that if the voter list becomes transparent, no genuine Indian will vote for the Trinamool,” he asserted.
West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya accused that Mamata “wants to incite riots in West Bengal and provoke conflicts between Hindus and Muslims. The minority community in the state has also realised that 90% of the political killings over the past three years involve people from the minority community.”
“If those who had fled the country have returned today, then this is not a brothel or a Dharamshala where anyone can enter the country. This cannot happen. Our stance is clear – detect and deport,” he declared.
“Mamata Banerjee is afraid of the deletion of names of fake voters after the SIR. The highest number of fake voters are in West Bengal. She has no hope of winning the election this time. She is talking about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to mislead the public. The names of Indian citizens will not be removed. Fake cards are made, and people are sent to vote,” BJP leader Locket Chatterjee expressed adding to the criticism.
“Ram Mandir, which is linked to our nation’s identity was built during his time. Triple Talaq was also abolished during his time, which helped Muslim women gain freedom. She has a speech disorder. She says anything. She never does what she says and who actually does what he says is Amit Shah,” BJP Lok Sabha MP pointed out while slamming Mamata’s diatribe.
Mamata Banerjee’s shocking tirade against Amit Shah
Mamata Banerjee asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to “trust him always” after charging Union Home Minister Amit Shah of functioning as a “acting prime minister” on 8th October. He was even referred to as Mir Jafar in a startling attempt to draw a comparison with the military leader of the 18th century who betrayed Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah during the Battle of Plassey.
“This is all Amit Shah’s game. He behaves like he is the acting prime minister of the country. PM Modi knows everything. We can request him not to trust Shah always. One day he will become your Mir Jafar,” she voiced.
Mamata added, “The Election Commission says SIR (Special Intensive Revision of the voters list) has to be done within 15 days. Are they going as per the BJP’s instruction? Everything is being done under the direction of Amit Shah.” The top BJP officials were accused by her of pressing the Election Commission into conducting the SIR program in the state.
“Their leader holds a meeting and comes here to say that he will delete several lakh names from the voters list of Bengal. Tell me, we are currently reeling under natural calamities, heavy rains, celebrating festivals and so on. Can the SIR exercise be completed within a fortnight and can fresh names be uploaded in that period under the current circumstances,” the chief minsiter questioned.
“I warned the BJP, don’t play with fire. Be prepared for public outrage. People of Bengal never believe you. I heard that the union home minister said in a party meeting that we will drop many names. Who is he to drop them? Today, his government is there, but tomorrow it will not be there,” she claimed and labeled the central government as “arrogant and dictatorial regime.”
The development transpired after Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti met with officials from several district administrations to examine West Bengal’s preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral records.
West Bengal’s mounting “fake voters” problem
The West Bengal Election Commission discovered that a sizable number of forged voter application forms had been accepted by Electoral Registration Offices (EROs) in certain districts during the sample checking of voter application forms (Form 6) for regular updates to the electoral roll. The Chief Election Officer mentioned that two EROs acknowledged a substantial number of phoney voter application forms.
An urgent investigation into the incident was ordered by the CEO, who also instructed the DEO to assemble a group of senior officials and perform a sample check of all voter application forms that were disposed of in the previous year.
On 13th August, the West Bengal government was given a seven-day deadline by the Election Commission to take action against state election officials who added fraudulent voters to the list. On 20th August, the government then suspended four officers.
Furthermore, according to the results of a study titled “Electoral Roll Inflation in West Bengal: A Demographic Reconstruction of Legitimate Voter Counts (2024)” the 2024 electoral roll of West Bengal could show an astounding 13.69% inflation amounting to 1 crore additional voters.
The crucial research was conducted by Dr. Milan Kumar, Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam and Dr. Vidhu Shekhar, Assistant Professor at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta.
It was published on 7th August and estimated the number of surviving voters from the 2004 base roll, additions through new cohorts (1986-2006 births) and adjustments for net permanent migration using official data from electoral rolls, censuses and civil registration systems. A similar paper was published in relation to Bihar as well.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Chief Election Officer (CEO) was asked by the state government to provide a “clarification” on 8th August over a reported letter to the Election Commission of India stating that the state was “ready” to participate in the SIR exercise.
It took place following the release of the 2002 SIR voter lists by the body for all but one of the 293 assembly constituencies . Notably, West Bengal’s last SIR took place in the aforementioned year which served as the basis for the 2004 election roster.
SIR is clearly not related to the political agenda of the BJP and instead addresses the grave problem of counterfeit voters, a matter that the Election Commission and even the government are responsible for resolving. However, rather than aiding in the essential processes, Mamata took to threatening Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
She “reminded” them that they are employed by the state government and not the Election Commission of India (ECI) as they attend training for summary revision. “Voter names should not be arbitrarily excluded from the electoral process,” she stated authoritatively. “The ECI takes over only after the poll dates are announced. Until then, and even after that, the administration lies with the state government. You are employees of the state government. Do not harass any individual needlessly,” the chief minister added.
The opposition in Bihar created a massive uproar over the SIR while their own Booth Level Agents (BLAs) who were engaged in the detailed process at every level, conveyed their complete faith in the same. Additionally, no party filed any grievances regarding it within the specified timeframe, despite making ludicrous claims in the media and social media.
Their anger stemmed solely from the reduction of their voter base and parallel scenes are happening in West Bengal where the TMC has also emulated their approach. The challenge posed by the fake voters is just as serious, if not more so, in the state. However, since they benefit the TMC, Mamata and her party support them with no concern for the Constitution or democracy which they seem to propagate and advocate for only when it serves their agenda.
Conclusion
Mamata and her TMC are evidently alarmed by the potential loss of their electoral support following the SIR in West Bengal which will eliminate non-Indians and other bogus names from the list of voters.
Just as many names were eliminated in Bihar, which were supporters of the Mahagathbandhan and incited backlash from the bloc, a similar situation is poised to unfold in West Bengal, a region plagued by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and blatant Muslim appeasement at the cost of national interest and integrity, by the chief minsiter and her administration.
Moreover, the TMC and its leaders have openly endorsed these elements in the past for votes and thus the potential removal of their voting power, which should never have been granted in the first place, has driven her to descend to the lowest levels of political rhetoric.
Nevertheless, considering the strong stance of the center and the Election Commission, it seems that no amount of low-level political attacks will deter them from executing the much needed exercise in the state.
“No valid voter’s name will be excluded. Whatever is stated in the law will be followed,” CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal assured after a high-level meeting on 9th October, amid verbal attacks including corruption charges from Mamata.
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