West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari pointed the finger squarely at Mamata Banerjee on Sunday, declaring that the former leader bears sole responsibility for the removal of 27 lakh names from the state’s voter rolls. He rejected any suggestion that the BJP or the Election Commission (EC) engineered the exclusions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
"The responsibility for the deletion of 27 lakh names lies with Mamata Banerjee, not the BJP or the Election Commission," Adhikari stated at a press conference in Kolkata. He argued that judicial officers executed these deletions strictly following Supreme Court directions in a petition originally filed by Banerjee herself. Adhikari characterized the current TMC complaint as an attempt to deflect blame following the party’s electoral defeat.
The confrontation intensified after Banerjee addressed a rally in Serampore on Saturday, where she renewed her attacks on the EC and BJP, alleging that genuine voters were victimized. Adhikari countered this narrative by invoking the election results, noting that his alliance secured 208 seats while the TMC and its allies managed only 80. "If SIR is good in Kerala, why is it bad in West Bengal? Mamata Banerjee is unable to accept the people’s verdict," he said.
Adhikari also seized on a meeting held Saturday between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. He claimed this gathering proved that SIR decisions in Bengal were not unilaterally dictated by the CEC. This assertion follows an Indian Express report suggesting Sandhu and Joshi raised objections to certain SIR-related decisions, though the EC maintains that internal differences are normal and final rulings are unanimous. The political battle over roll restoration is expected to escalate as TMC legal teams prepare to approach the courts for a review of the deleted entries.