Leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of undermining the independence of the polling officials.

“She instructed BLOs (Booth Level Officers) to ensure that no voters name is removed from the voter list, which could be interpreted as an attempt to influence the revision of electoral rolls for political motives,” Suvendu wrote in a letter addressed to the chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

During an administrative meeting of officials at Birbhum’s Bolpur on Monday Mamata had reminded the BLOs that they were employees of the state government.

“I will request the BLOs that they should ensure no name is deleted from the voter list. Remember, BLOs work on deputation with the Election Commission only when election notification is issued. So, you should remember that you are a state government employee,” Mamata said.

The chief minister had also claimed to have been kept in the dark about 1,000-odd officials from the state called for poll-duty training in Delhi.

Suvendu said Mamata’s statements were a direct and unwarranted interference in the duties of the BLOs.

“These statements are not only an affront to the autonomy and authority of the Election Commission but also a veiled attempt to intimidate and coerce BLOs who are tasked with ensuring the integrity of the voter list and the electoral process,” Suvendu wrote.

Since her days in the Opposition, Mamata has had frequent brushes with the central poll panel. After the 2001 state Assembly polls she had claimed the EC was purchased. A charge she has frequently repeated after Narendra Modi became prime minister and the BJP rose to political prominence in the state.

During a meeting with party leaders and functionaries at the Netaji Indoor stadium this February she had accused the EC of working on behalf of the BJP.

Mamata’s latest salvo against the EC has during the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, where lakhs of voters are likely to be disenfranchised once the list is published by end of August.

The poll body has said till now 22 lakh deceased electors, seven lakh with names in multiple constituencies and 36 lakh untraced voters have been detected.

Mamata and the Trinamool have been at the forefront of the protests against the SIR drive, apprehending that a similar drive would be carried out in Bengal before next year’s Assembly polls. The BJP has alleged the voters list in Bengal is packed with undocumented migrants from Bangladesh and Trinamool is protecting them. Incidentally, while the Left Front was in power in Bengal, Mamata had accused the Left of protecting undocumented Bangladeshi migrants, the same that the BJP is accusing her for.

Seeking a thorough probe into the Bengal chief minister’s remarks, Adhikari has demanded the EC to ensure that the BLOs could discharge their responsibility towards sanitising the voters list without any fear of reprisal.

“The people of Bengal deserve elections that are free from coercion, manipulation, or external pressures. Any attempt to undermine the EC’s authority or influence election officials must be addressed with the utmost urgency and seriousness to preserve public trust in our democratic institutions,” Suvendu wrote.