‘You Are Nominated, I Am Elected’: Abhishek Banerjee’s Sharp Reply To Poll Body Chief On Electoral Rolls

The meeting comes amid an escalating confrontation between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP-led Centre, months ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

The Commission cautioned the party to ensure that its ground-level representatives do not threaten or intimidate election officials.

Source : PTI

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A 10-member Trinamool Congress delegation led by party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi on Tuesday, alleging large-scale manipulation of electoral rolls during the ongoing voter re-verification drive in West Bengal.

The meeting comes amid an escalating confrontation between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP-led Centre, months ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

‘Real Threat Lies In Electoral Rolls’

After submitting a detailed representation, Banerjee told reporters that excessive focus on electronic voting machines had diverted attention from what he described as a more serious concern.

“Vote chori is not happening in EVM. It's happening in electoral rolls,” he said.

The party has repeatedly alleged that the re-verification exercise is being used to selectively delete, reclassify and flag voters through what it described as “opaque (and) software-driven mechanisms”.

Objection To ‘Suspicious Voter’ Categories

In its written submission, the Trinamool raised objections to the introduction of new and unexplained categories such as “suspicious voters” and “logical discrepancies”, arguing that these did not exist during earlier Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercises.

The party demanded that the Election Commission make public the complete “logical discrepancy list” to ensure transparency.

“If it is not happening, then release the 'logical discrepancy' list. In earlier SIR there was no such thing as a suspicious list,” Banerjee said, alleging that electoral rolls were being “weaponised” to influence election outcomes.

“I clearly mentioned this to Gyanesh Kumar – ‘you are weaponising electoral rolls’,” he added.

Call For Opposition Coordination

Banerjee sought to expand the issue beyond West Bengal, claiming opposition parties in other states had failed to detect similar problems in time.

“Parties like Congress and AAP couldn't catch this in Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana... If they would have caught that, BJP would have lost in these states,” he said, calling for greater coordination among opposition parties.

‘Tense’ Meeting, Allegations Against CEC

Describing the interaction as tense, Banerjee alleged that the delegation’s concerns were dismissed during the meeting.

“When we were talking he started pointing fingers, interrupted, and was losing temper. I replied, ‘you are nominated and I am elected’,” he claimed.

Accusing the Centre of undermining constitutional institutions, Banerjee alleged, “This government is running on WhatsApp circulars. Gyanesh Kumar was sent on a mission to destroy this institution and our country.”

He challenged the Election Commission to make public the proceedings of the meeting, including CCTV footage.

‘Political Turning Point’, Says Banerjee

Calling the issue a turning point, Banerjee appealed to opposition parties to act decisively.

“I appeal to like-minded parties to catch the chori they are doing through software in voter rolls,” he said, adding, “It's a challenge to us, we have come here to throw your government out of power.”

Composition Of Trinamool Delegation

The delegation included Chief Rajya Sabha Whip Md Nadimul Haque, MPs Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, Mamata Thakur, Saket Gokhale and Ritabrata Banerjee, along with senior leaders Pradip Mazumdar, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Manas Bhunia.

Election Commission Rejects Allegations

Responding to the delegation, the Election Commission rejected the allegations and issued counter-directions.

It asked the West Bengal government to immediately release the enhanced honorarium approved by the Commission for Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The EC also informed the delegation that additional polling stations would be set up in high-rise buildings, gated communities and slum areas to improve voter access.

Warning Against Intimidation Of Officials

The Commission cautioned the party to ensure that its ground-level representatives do not threaten or intimidate election officials.

It said any intimidation of BLOs, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant EROs (AEROs) or observers would not be tolerated, warning of strict action against any attempt to interfere with the election process or take the law into one’s own hands.