Birbhum (West Bengal) [India], April 1 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, accusing the party of land grabs, deleting voter names, and indulging in divisive politics, and vowed to ensure it never regains strength in the state.
Speaking to reporters, CM Mamata Banerjee said, "An attempt was made to grab the land of Amartya Sen. An attempt was made to evict him. They should be ashamed of themselves."
She further added, "BJP is doing what the CPI(M) used to do. Names have been deleted by looking at the names. I approached the Supreme Court."
Referring to the party's role in West Bengal's history, Banerjee said, "When Bengal was participating in the freedom struggle, the BJP was not even born. They are looting our money and lying. They go out with guns on Ram Navami."
On the upcoming polls, she asserted, "It is important to defeat the BJP so that it never stands up again... There will be a big 'khela' this time."
Mamata's attacks on the BJP over land grabs and alleged voter manipulation come amid escalating tensions outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Kolkata, where clashes erupted over bulk submission of Form 6 applications.
Earlier, violence had erupted outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Kolkata on Tuesday, with clashes between TMC and BJP workers over allegations that Form 6, used to apply for the fresh inclusion of names in the electoral roll, is being submitted in large numbers in West Bengal.
Against this backdrop, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar about the issue, accusing that "BJP agents have been caught red-handed flooding the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, with thousands of fraudulent Form 6 applications to smuggle non-residents and outsiders into Bengal's electoral rolls. This is an attempt at voter hijacking."
She further alleged, calling for the Election Commission to punish such actions which are "illegal, unconstitutional, and fundamentally undemocratic in nature."
In response to the allegations, CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday said, "This is not my work. I cannot keep checking who is bringing what into my office. Should I conduct elections in the whole State or keep doing this?"
A group of booth-level officers (BLOs), backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress, claimed on Tuesday that they had intercepted a BJP worker carrying over 400 Form 6 applications into the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Kolkata. Following this, BLOs and TMC supporters staged a protest outside the office, raising concerns over the matter. BJP workers soon arrived at the scene, leading to a heated confrontation between the two sides.
TMC protesters had alleged that the BJP was attempting to register voters from outside West Bengal to sway the elections in its favour. To control the escalating tension, central forces and local police were deployed at the spot. Police personnel, equipped with batons, resorted to charging the protesters in an effort to disperse the crowd and calm the situation.
The incident came a day after TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee submitted a formal complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, accusing the Election Commission of India of altering the state's demographic composition by adding voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to the electoral rolls. He had further alleged that the BJP had submitted at least 30,000 Form 6 applications in bulk.
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