Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 8 : In the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of turning "Indian democracy into a cruel joke" over SIR in the state.
In an X post, the party claimed that they are "selectively targeting and deleting genuine voters" in the process to "rig" the election results in their favour, calling it a "shameless bid".
"Even Suprabuddha Sen, grandson of legendary artist Nandalal Bose, the man who illustrated the Indian Constitution, along with his wife, have had their names arbitrarily deleted from the electoral rolls. Shockingly, names of voters at whose homes @AmitShah himself had lunch have also been wiped out," the post further claimed.
The ruling party in Bengal issued a stern warning to the BJP, stating they are in for a "rude awakening" if they believe "disenfranchising" honest citizens will lead to victory.
"Even if only one genuine voter remains in Bengal, that single vote will go to Smt. Mamata Banerjee," the party said.
This escalation follows a meeting between a TMC delegation and ECI, who stated that they have been given a "straight talk" that elections in the state will be fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, inducement-free, raid-free, and source-jamming-free.
"ECI's Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress. This time, the Elections in West Bengal would surely be: Fear-free, Violence-free, Intimidation-free, Inducement-free, and without any Raid, Booth Jamming and Source Jamming," the poll body said on X.
Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) Gyanesh Kumar requested TMC MP Derek O' Brien to maintain decorum, stating that shouting and inappropriate behaviour are unacceptable in the Commission's premises.
The party has also separately written to the poll body, expressing "grave concern" over claims that politically biased officials and observers are threatening electoral neutrality in the state ahead of the Assembly election.
In the letter, the party flagged concerns over the "neutrality, fairness, and transparency" of the electoral process, asserting that recent developments point to a disturbing erosion of institutional impartiality.
There have been several confrontations and a tussle between the TMC and the ECI over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The TMC has accused the ECI of working on the behest of the Opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to delete the names of the voters from the electoral rolls.
Polling for the 294-member Assembly in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.