By Shabana Javed
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday alleged that nearly 60,000 voters are being dropped from the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency during the SIR of electoral rolls. Speaking at a Holi and Dol programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium, she accused the Election Commission and the BJP-led Union government of acting with bias.
Claiming that names were deliberately removed, Mamata said, “I am shocked. They are doing inhuman and vindictive work. Cowards fight from behind. Sixty thousand voters are being cut from my small Bhabanipur constituency. Even then, I say I will win from Bhabanipur even if it is by one vote.”
According to the first phase of the revised voter list under the SIR process, around 47,094 names have been removed from Bhabanipur. Additionally, 14,154 names are under consideration, meaning their final status is yet to be determined.
Mamata won the Bhabanipur seat by over 58,000 votes in the October 2021 by-election. Political observers believe the largescale deletion and pending status of voter names could influence electoral dynamics ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
In Bhabanipur, and more broadly across West Bengal, the Muslim vote has traditionally been an important support base for Mamata and her party. Muslims are around 20-22% of Bhabanipur electorate. Mamata said she has already held multiple meetings with booth-level agents in Bhabanipur, underlining her focus on protecting voter rights in her constituency.
Mamata alleged that lakhs of genuine voters across Bengal are being deprived of their voting rights. “After marriage, if a woman moves to her husband’s home, her name is being struck off. Even after submitting all documents, genuine voters’ names are being removed. The Election Commission has worked with bias,” she claimed.
She also alleged that 58 lakh names across the state have been removed without proper verification.
