West Bengal [India], July 28 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner, urging him to ensure that no domicile certificates issued on or after July 25, 2025, are accepted during the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls.
Adhikari raised concerns about a potential voter list manipulation scheme in West Bengal. Over 70,000 Form-6 applications have been submitted in the past week, a significant increase from the usual 20,000-25,000, particularly in districts like Coochbehar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri.
Adhikari suspected that the West Bengal Administration is issuing domicile certificates to Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, which could alter the voter demographics.
In a post on X, Adhikari wrote, "A disturbing trend has emerged in West Bengal's border districts. Over 70,000 Form-6 applications have been submitted on average in the last week, a sharp rise from the usual 20,000-25,000, especially in Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Maldah, North Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, and North & South 24 Parganas districts. This surge, coupled with reports of Domicile Certificates being issued by the West Bengal Administration, raises serious concerns about the State Govt's unethical and illegal efforts in order to facilitate the legitimizing of the infiltrating Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, with the aim to manipulate our Voter Lists."
In a letter to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Ashikari said that a significant and troubling rise in Form-6 applications across several border districts in West Bengal has triggered alarm bells over potential attempts to manipulate the state's voter rolls.
"Over the past week alone, more than 70,000 applications have reportedly been submitted on average--an almost threefold increase compared to the usual 20,000-25,000 per week. The districts witnessing this unprecedented surge include Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Maldah, North Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, and both North and South 24 Parganas," the letter added.
BJP MLA in a letter said, "This surge, coupled with reports of Domicile Certificates being issued by the West Bengal Administration, raises serious concerns about the State Govt's unethical and illegal efforts in order to facilitate the legitimising of the infiltrating Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, with the aim to manipulate our Voter Lists."
"The integrity of our democracy must be protected and can't be allowed to get diluted for the vested interests of vote bank politics," the letter stated. It also emphasises that District Election Officers bear the constitutional responsibility of ensuring free and fair elections, with their loyalty lying with protecting the interests of the country.
On Sunday, BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her Bhasha Aandolan "drama" to stop Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
On July 25, while addressing a gathering in Kolkata, Banerjee called for another 'Bhasha Aandolan', alleging that the Bengali-speaking people in other states are being harassed.Adhikari called Banerjee "protector" of the Bangladeshi Muslims and alleged that a big chunk of her vote bank is" infiltrators, Bangladeshis and Rohingyas."
"It is only a drama to stop SIR. Mamata Banerjee is a relative of the Rohingyas. She is the protector of Bangladeshi Muslims. A big part of her vote bank are infiltrators, Bangladeshis and Rohingyas", Adhikari told ANI.
Earlier, at an event in Kolkata on July 21, Mamata Banerjee had also slammed the Election Commission of India, stating that the electoral body has removed 40 lakh people from the voters' list in Bihar and claimed that it wants to do the same in West Bengal as well.
"ECI removed over 40 lakh names from the voters' list in Bihar, and now you want to do the same in Bengal? Try it, and we will launch a Gherao movement...We will not let this new law stand. We will fight, we will change it, we will not accept it", Banerjee said during her address.
The Election Commission of India is conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the state's assembly elections later this year. The ECI had clarified that names in the electoral rolls will not be deleted without a proper notice and written order by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), as per SIR guidelines.
Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has revealed that approximately 35 lakh electors are either untraced or have permanently migrated from their registered addresses.