Fake voter registration attempts in WB ahead of 2026 polls: Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that voters from Bihar were being registered in West Bengal through online registration
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that a “ghost political party” is trying to register at least 20,000 – 30,000 fake voters in every assembly seat across the state ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.
Not name any particular political party, Banerjee initially said, “Babus have come to Bengal and siting here to register 20,000 – 30,000 fake voters in every assembly seat. The Election Commission of India will conduct the polls by sending central forces. Voters, who do not belong to Bengal, will come and cast their votes. We will foil your plans.”
She alleged that voters from Bihar were being registered in West Bengal through online registration.
Banerjee, separately, targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while referring to the results of the Delhi and Maharashtra assembly polls. “BJP, how did the votes increase by four million in Maharashtra? What did you do in Delhi? One day the truth will come out. While some people solve mathematics problems earlier, others may take time,” she said.
Suvendu Adhikari, BJP legislator and leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly, hit back saying, ““She (Banerjee) is the chief minister for 14 years. Does she even know what she is saying? Who are the registration officers of the electoral roll? The district magistrates. We have identified 1.6 million duplicate voters. We will get their names deleted before the 2026 polls.”
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Last week, Congress lawmaker Rahul Gandhi alleged discrepancies in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election. He said that over 39 lakh voters were added to the state’s electoral rolls within a span of five months. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory in the Maharashtra assembly election.
Ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal had also accused the BJP of manipulating the electoral rolls by registering “fake” voters from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Elections for the 294-seated West Bengal Assembly are scheduled to be held next year. In the 2021 elections while the TMC won 213 seats, the BJP won in 77 seats.
“Our workers will go and verify whether the voters actually exist or fake voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were being registered. We will fight against this. The chief minister has instructed us,” Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, TMC leader and state agriculture minister, said.
The BJP, however, hit back saying that they have drawn up a list of around 1.6 million fake voters in the state.