Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was at her belligerent best in her attack on Union home minister Amit Shah and the Election Commission of India, but the BJP has avoided an immediate counter-attack and seemed to be in a wait-and-watch mode.
A BJP leader said that the party wanted to closely observe how the Election Commission of India reacted to Mamata’s aggressive attack on it and her refusal to comply with its order to take action against four Bengal officials accused of inserting fictitious names in the electoral rolls.
“The Election Commission will look into the matter. It is a constitutional body. We want an electoral roll free from the Rohingya, bogus names and dead persons from the EC,” said Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya in New Delhi.
On Tuesday, the EC had directed Bengal chief secretary, Manoj Pant, to suspend four officials, initiate disciplinary proceedings, and lodge FIRs against them for allegedly inserting fictitious names in the electoral rolls of two Assembly segments — Moyna and Baruipur (East).
From a political rally in Jhargram on Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee directly confronted the EC, defiantly declaring that she would protect her officers and would not follow the directive to take action against them. She went on to accuse the commission of working at the behest of the BJP.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari echoed the BJP’s Bengal unit chief and said the EC should assess the ground situation in Bengal.
“Mamata Banerjee today challenged the Election Commission. I won’t say much on this. We, the 11 crore people of Bengal, are in pain. Now let the Election Commission understand what kind of chief minister Bengal has,” Adhikari said in Barasat, North 24-Parganas, where he led a march demanding justice for the daughters of Bengal.
Usually, the entire BJP leadership floods social media with criticism when Mamata speaks out against the Union government or the party. This time, the BJP’s social media handles have not issued any strong posts or comments regarding Mamata’s fierce attack on the EC, which is set to launch the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
“It’s possible that the party will send a letter to the EC demanding action over Mamata Banerjee’s comments, but since the attack was on the EC, the BJP wants to first observe how the EC uses its authority,” said a BJP leader.
He added that Mamata certainly knows she cannot defy the Election Commission’s directive, and her statement was likely intended to boost the morale of her officials amid reports that many of them were shaken by the EC’s orders.
“Tuesday’s EC order had a serious impact on a section of state government officials who were already considering not following various ‘illegitimate’ instructions from the state government. So, the chief minister made a desperate public statement to show that her government stands with them. She knows she would face serious issues if the bureaucracy’s morale dips,” he added.
A source said the state government could move court against any order of the EC, but can’t deny complying with its order.
BJP state president Bhattacharya interpreted Mamata’s criticism of the EC — accusing it of being “bonded labour” of the BJP — as a sign that the ruling dispensation in Bengal was rattled by the proposed SIR.
“The SIR is already being conducted in Bihar and panic has gripped Bengal even before the process has begun here, because the entire electoral roll is tainted. The Trinamool is panicking as they are hearing warning bells from the upcoming SIR,” added Bhattacharya.
CPM, Cong charge
The other Opposition parties in Bengal, the CPM and the Congress, accused both the BJP and Trinamool of trying to “rig” the voter list for their vested interests.
“We want to ensure that the BJP does not succeed in removing the names of genuine voters, and at the same time, we want to prevent Trinamool from keeping the ineligible names on the electoral rolls,” said CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty.
Echoing Chakraborty, Congress chief spokesperson in Bengal, Soumya Aich Roy said: “The chief minister is trying to safeguard fake voters to win the election fraudulently. We see both the BJP and Trinamool on the same page. The former wants to remove genuine voters, while the latter wants to retain fake and dead voters.”