Senior leader of the Mamata Banerjee faction of the TMC Abhishek Banerjee Thursday released purported screenshots from a WhatsApp group of election observers and alleged they raised serious questions over a “conspiracy” to delete 30 lakh names from electoral rolls, escalating the political confrontation over the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision. Directly targeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Diamond Harbour MP said the screenshots dated back to April and demanded that the poll panel explain what had happened.
The screenshots could not be independently authenticated and their complete context was not immediately available. Banerjee nevertheless cited them to reinforce his party’s allegations of large-scale wrongful deletion of voters, claims that have been disputed by the Election Commission and the BJP.
‘This cannot be buried’
“This screenshot from a WhatsApp group of observers goes back to April. It raises serious questions about an alleged conspiracy to delete 30 lakh names from the electoral rolls. This cannot be brushed aside. It cannot be buried. And it cannot be answered with silence,” Banerjee said in a post on X.
“Gyanesh Kumar has serious questions to answer before the people of this country,” he added. “India is watching. India is asking questions. And India will demand answers.”
Two purported screenshots accompanied Banerjee’s post. In one of the exchanges, a participant identified as belonging to the observers’ group appeared to question why Election Commission directions on the same issue differed between states. Banerjee presented the messages as evidence supporting his demand for scrutiny of the SIR exercise, although the identities of all participants and the circumstances surrounding the exchanges have not been independently established.
Internal objections deepen row
Banerjee’s allegations came a day after an Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over the previous 10 months to decisions and communications concerning electoral rolls that they said had been issued without their knowledge. The objections covered sensitive areas including registration of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, access to the electoral-roll database and appeals concerning voters in West Bengal.
The report said the two Commissioners had also questioned changes to Form 6 used for registering new voters, with Sandhu describing one such change as “unauthorised and illegal”. Concerns were also raised internally about what was described as the gradual centralisation of control over the electoral-roll database and whether statutory electoral registration officers continued to have complete access to the system.
The Election Commission has rejected suggestions that the reported disagreements amounted to a split within the constitutional body. It has maintained that final decisions concerning the SIR were unanimous and that differences, suggestions and observations made during institutional deliberations were part of the Commission’s normal functioning.
TMC demands action against CEC
Banerjee has gone considerably further than seeking an explanation, demanding Kumar’s arrest and an independent investigation under Supreme Court supervision. He has alleged that genuine voters were selectively removed in West Bengal and claimed similar irregularities occurred in Haryana and Bihar, accusations that remain contested.
“The allegations we raised earlier have today been echoed by the other Election Commissioners as well,” Banerjee had said Wednesday. He alleged that around 30 lakh names had been deleted in West Bengal to benefit one political party, but the reported internal objections by the two Election Commissioners did not themselves establish Banerjee’s claim of a politically motivated conspiracy or identify the beneficiary of the disputed decisions.
Banerjee has also attacked the process through which election commissioners are appointed, alleging that constitutional institutions were being made to serve political interests. Referring to the CEC, he claimed that a person “preferred and nominated by the Prime Minister” would work for the Prime Minister and BJP leaders, an allegation that the ruling party and the poll body have rejected in the broader political dispute over the Commission’s independence.
Bengal deletions under spotlight
The controversy has acquired particular political significance in West Bengal, where the SIR became one of the most contested electoral-roll exercises in the country. Of the 27.16 lakh voters removed during the revision in the state, more than 22 lakh subsequently filed appeals seeking restoration of their names, according to figures placed by the Election Commission before the Supreme Court.
The poll body has defended the revision process and has maintained that deletion from the rolls followed the prescribed verification mechanism. Questions over some of the subsequent appeals have, however, also figured in the reported internal correspondence, including who authorised challenges against voters whose names had been restored.
The TMC has sought to connect these developments to its setback in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. The party has alleged that electoral-roll irregularities affected the outcome in some constituencies, while the BJP has rejected the charge and accused its rival of attempting to undermine an election result through unsubstantiated allegations.
Mamata too demands CEC’s arrest
Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee has separately demanded Kumar’s arrest and criminal prosecution over the electoral-roll controversy. She has sought restoration of earlier voter lists and fresh elections in constituencies where her faction alleges legitimate voters were prevented from casting their ballots.
Abhishek Banerjee Thursday also widened his attack on the BJP, claiming the party had used its political and administrative strength in an unsuccessful attempt to dominate Bengal. His fresh intervention ensures that the reported disagreements inside the Election Commission — and now the purported observers’ messages — will remain at the centre of an increasingly bitter fight over how India’s electoral rolls were revised.