TMC plans a blueprint to root out ‘ghost voters’, BJP calls it ‘sinister’

TMC outlined a plan to identify fake voters ahead of the 2026 elections. It includes appointing agents and forming committees at various levels

Kolkata: The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party in West Bengal has devised a detailed plan to identify “ghost voters” ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The plan, discussed in a virtual meeting on Saturday led by TMC lawmaker and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, involves appointing agents and setting up committees at various levels to ensure the identification of these fake voters.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in collusion with the Election Commission of India (ECI), has hatched a conspiracy to disenfranchise Bengal’s electorate, TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said. (ANI)

“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in collusion with the Election Commission of India (ECI), has hatched a conspiracy to disenfranchise Bengal’s electorate. Multiple voters, primarily from BJP-ruled states, have been assigned the same EPIC number in Bengal - a sinister plot to plant fake voters and manipulate the 2026 assembly elections. Today I convened a virtual meeting with our leaders. We have meticulously examined the irregularities and laid out a comprehensive plan to democratically counteract this fraud,” Banerjee said in a statement on Saturday.

The BJP, meanwhile, has hit back, claiming that it is part of the TMC’s plan to exclude BJP voters and include infiltrators from across the border. “The TMC is raising a hue and cry over ghost voters as part of their sinister plan to exclude Hindi-speaking voters, who form a part of the BJP’s core supporters. Instead, they want to include infiltrators and Rohingyas,” Rahul Sinha, BJP leader, said.

Specifying that the voter list verification process will start on April 16 and continue until the 2026 assembly elections, a senior TMC leader said, “From March 21 to 27, block and town committees will be formed, which will include MLAs, block and town presidents, panchayat samiti sabhadhipati, municipality chairpersons, councillors, and panchayat pradhans, among others. Between March 28 and April 3, panchayat and ward committees will be set up. Between April 4 and 14, booth-level committees will be established.”

This follows West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s accusation on February 27, alleging that the BJP had enrolled “fake voters” from other states with the help of the ECI. “Babus have come to Bengal and are sitting 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 had said.

The ECI on March 1 clarified that identical EPIC numbers do not indicate duplicate or fake voters, citing “errors from the decentralsed and manual process used in different states and Union Territories (UTs)”. To address this, the ECI announced plans to assign unique EPIC numbers to all electors and update the ‘ERONET 2.0 platform’ to support this change.

Opposition parties too have intensified their demand for a debate on EPICs and voter rolls during the upcoming Budget session of Parliament. A senior Trinamool Congress leader said that “nine opposition parties have conveyed their demand to NDA ministers that the Opposition is ready to discuss the issue under any rule”.

“During the house-to-house survey, the ID cards of new voters will be checked. TMC will appoint booth level agents-1 (BLA-1) in every organisational district of the party, who will coordinate with the district election officers, electoral registration officers, and assistant electoral registration officers of the state administration. The BLA-1 will, in turn, appoint BLA-2, who will be tasked with coordinating with booth-level officers (BLO) of the state administration,” the senior leader explained

He added that in case the BLA-2 has any doubts about a voter, they will inform the BLA-1, and Form-7 will be filled to raise objections.

TMC’s district presidents were also directed to form district committees in every district within the next five days. “These committees will work on the voter list issue. Along with the party’s district president, zilla parishad members, block presidents, MPs, MLAs, and municipality chairpersons, among others, will also be part of the committee,” he said.

“Now, they are raising the issue of fake voters from other states to cover up the infiltrators and Rohingyas. We have already approached the ECI for a thorough check-up,” BJP leader Sinha added.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari also had hit back saying, the TMC government has enrolled infiltrators from Bangladesh and Myanmar as voters.