Mamata Banerjee Accuses Election Commission of Voter Exclusion in Electoral Roll Revision

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has turned into an exercise aimed at excluding voters rather than correcting records.

In her third letter to the CEC since the revision began, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of political bias, insensitivity and high-handedness in the conduct of the exercise. She said the process was undermining democratic and constitutional principles.

“The hearing process has become largely mechanical, driven purely by technical data and completely devoid of the application of mind, sensitivity and human touch,” Banerjee wrote in the three-page letter. She alleged that the objective of the exercise appeared to be “neither of correction nor of inclusion… but solely of deletion and of exclusion”.

At the end of the typed letter, the chief minister added a handwritten note expressing scepticism over receiving a response. “Though I know you won’t reply or clarify. But (it is) my duty to inform you (of) the details,” she wrote.

Banerjee claimed that the SIR exercise had already resulted in 77 deaths, four suicide attempts and 17 hospitalisations, which she attributed to fear, intimidation and excessive workload linked to the process. She said minor discrepancies such as spelling errors or small differences in age were leading to coercive hearings, harassment and loss of daily wages for ordinary citizens.

Citing examples, she noted that names could appear differently across documents—such as “Mamta” and “Mamata”—or that small variations in age records between parents and children were common. “Do such trivial discrepancies justify coercive action that results in harassment, inconvenience and for many even losses of daily wages?” she asked, questioning who would compensate citizens for the hardship caused.

The chief minister also highlighted the difficulties faced by women voters who change their surnames after marriage, saying many were being summoned to prove their identity. She described this as a “grave insult”.

Banerjee further raised concerns over technical and administrative irregularities, alleging that so-called “logical discrepancies” were being selectively targeted in certain constituencies with political bias. She said the use of a separate portal for West Bengal and erratic backend changes were creating confusion among officials.

She accused some observers and micro-observers—many of whom she said lacked adequate training—of acting beyond their mandate, verbally abusing citizens and even branding them “Desh Drohi”.

The letter also flagged problems faced by migrant workers and people living outside the state, noting that only a limited number of electors were allowed to appear through authorised family members, forcing many others to endure hardship.

Banerjee expressed outrage over the summoning of eminent personalities, including Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, actor and MP Deepak Adhikari, cricketer Mohammed Shami, and a monk of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha. “Does this not amount to sheer audacity on the part of the ECI?” she asked.

Urging immediate corrective steps, the chief minister concluded, “Though it is already very late, hope good sense prevails, and appropriate corrective actions are taken from your end to minimise the harassment, inconvenience and agony of the common citizen of the state.”