KOLKATA: Escalating his attack on the Election Commission over the post-SIR electoral rolls in West Bengal, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the "target of deleting over one crore voters was decided even before the exercise began".
The TMC national general secretary announced that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would stage a dharna on March 6 against what he described as "arbitrary deletions" under the SIR.
Addressing a press conference a day after the publication of the first phase of post-SIR final rolls, Banerjee claimed that BJP leaders had publicly stated that "1.2 crore names" would be removed from the rolls and alleged that the cumulative number of deletions and voters kept "under adjudication" now corresponds closely to that figure.
"The target of deleting over one crore voters in West Bengal was decided even before SIR commenced.
BJP leaders have repeatedly said 1.2 crore names will be removed.
If you add the deletions and those put under adjudication, the number corresponds closely to the figure of 1.2 crore," he said.
Banerjee referred to earlier remarks by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, former BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and Union minister Shantanu Thakur on large-scale deletions from the rolls.
"Even before the commencement of SIR, these leaders had said that 1 crore to 1.25 crore voters will be deleted.They had fixed a target.The Election Commission is acting accordingly," he alleged.
Ahead of the press conference, he also showed a video clip in which the leaders could be heard mentioning figures of around 1.2 crore.
Banerjee accused the BJP of indulging in "politics of vendetta", and alleged that names of those who do not vote for the saffron party were being selectively deleted.
"The BJP cannot win elections through free and fair polls. So it is trying to influence the poll outcome by deleting genuine voters using the EC," he said.
However, Banerjee asserted that such an exercise would not benefit the BJP electorally.
"Whether you conduct SIR or file FIRs, in 2026 you will come down to below 50 seats. I had said this a year ago, and I am repeating it today," he said, reiterating his claim that the BJP would not cross the 50-seat mark in the assembly polls.
Questioning the transparency of the exercise, Banerjee asked why the commission has not published data on how many "Rohingyas and Bangladeshis" were detected during the revision, amid repeated allegations by BJP leaders about illegal infiltrators altering the state's demography.
"If the entire exercise was meant to identify infiltrators, why is the EC not publishing how many Rohingyas and Bangladeshis have been found?" he asked.
Taking a swipe at the poll panel over the inclusion of Indian women's cricket team member Richa Ghosh in the 'under adjudication' category, Banerjee said, "If Richa Ghosh's name is under adjudication, then India's World Cup victory is also under adjudication."
He also questioned how deletions were processed through Form-7 applications even after the stipulated deadline had allegedly expired.
Alleging that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was working "at the behest of the BJP", Banerjee indicated that the TMC would once again move the Supreme Court over the issue.
He said the party would submit the first phase of the post-SIR final rolls before the apex court.
Banerjee's remarks came a day after the Election Commission published the post-SIR rolls, marking a sweeping electoral reset barely months before the assembly polls.
According to official data released on Saturday, 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted since the Special Intensive Revision began in November last year, reducing the voter base from 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
The 116-day statewide exercise, the first intensive revision since 2002, has also placed over 60.06 lakh electors in the 'under adjudication' category, with their eligibility now subject to judicial scrutiny in the coming weeks, a process that could further recalibrate constituency-level equations.
The draft rolls published on December 16 last year had already pared down the electorate from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore, deleting over 58 lakh names on grounds such as death, migration, duplication and untraceability.
Following hearings and disposal of claims and objections, another 5.46 lakh deletions were recorded through Form-7 applications, taking the total SIR-linked omissions to around 63.66 lakh.