Mamata Banerjee accuses election commission of excluding voters in West Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been turned into an exercise to exclude voters rather than correct records.

In her third letter to Kumar since the SIR began, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of political bias, insensitivity, and high-handedness during the exercise.

"The hearing process has become largely mechanical, driven purely by technical data and completely devoid of the application of mind, sensitivity and human touch," she wrote in the three-page letter.

She said that the exercise's aim seemed “neither of correction nor of inclusion... but solely of deletion and of exclusion”, alleging that the process undermines the democratic and constitutional framework.

At the end of the typed letter, Banerjee added a handwritten note, "Though I know you won't reply or clarify. But (it is) my duty to inform you (of) the details."

She claimed that the exercise has led to 77 deaths, four suicide attempts, and 17 hospitalisations, which she attributed to fear, intimidation, and excessive workload.

She said minor spelling or age discrepancies were leading to coercive hearings, harassment, and loss of wages for ordinary people.

Citing her own name as an example, she wrote, "A name may appear as ‘Mamta’ in one document and ‘Mamata’ in another, middle name ‘Kumar’ may inadvertently be recorded as ‘Komar’ or ‘Kumer’. Similarly, as in records, (the) age difference between son/daughter with father/mother may be 18 or 19 years.

"Do such trivial discrepancies justify coercive action that results in harassment, inconvenience and for many even losses of daily wages? Who will compensate citizens for the hardship caused by such tyrannical actions of the ECI?”

She highlighted the plight of women voters who changed surnames after marriage, stating that they were being summoned to prove their identity, which she described as a “grave insult".

Banerjee also raised concerns over technical and administrative irregularities, saying that "so-called 'logical discrepancies' are being selectively targeted in some constituencies only with political bias", while a different portal for West Bengal and erratic backend changes were confusing officials.

She alleged that observers and micro-observers, many without adequate training, were acting beyond their mandate, with some verbally abusing citizens and branding them "Desh, Drohi".

The CM also expressed concern for migrant workers and people living outside the state, noting that only select electors were allowed to appear through authorised family members, leaving many others to face hardship.

She drew attention to the summoning of eminent personalities, including Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, actor and MP Deepak Adhikari, cricketer Mohammed Shami, and a monk of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, asking, "Does this not amount to sheer audacity on the part of the ECI?"

Banerjee urged the EC to take corrective action, stating, "Though it is already very late, hope good sense prevails, and appropriate corrective actions are taken from your end to minimise the harassment, inconvenience and agony of the common citizen of the state."