KOLKATA: Monday’s saffron tsunami in West Bengal, which paved the way for the formation of the first BJP government in the state, has prompted party insiders and political observers to claim that the deletion of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, along with anti-incumbency factors triggered by lawlessness, unchecked corruption and appeasement politics under the ruling Trinamool Congress government, led to the party’s overwhelming victory.
The BJP has secured 207 out of 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, sweeping aside the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which has retained only 80 seats in the 2026 election compared to the 215 it won in 2021.
An initial assessment by the Bengal BJP unit revealed that the deletion of around 91 lakh voters, including approximately 64 lakh absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate (ASDD) electors, along with another 27 lakh adjudicated individuals whose names were removed from supplementary lists after the SIR exercise, has significantly impacted the Trinamool Congress vote bank, particularly in around 80 constituencies across bordering districts such as North Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and North 24 Parganas.
Data comparing the Trinamool Congress’ winning margins against the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections with the number of deleted voters across electoral districts indicates the extent of the ruling party’s losses.
In the Bhabanipur constituency, Mamata Banerjee lost to her BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 15,000 votes. The deletion of approximately 51,000 voters from the electoral rolls in this high-profile constituency emerged as a key factor, along with the consolidation of Hindu votes in favour of Adhikari. Bhabanipur has a minority population of around 21 per cent.
In Murshidabad, a minority-dominated district with over 70 per cent Muslim population, the BJP has made a significant breakthrough, winning eight out of 22 Assembly seats, Murshidabad, Behrampore, Jangipur, Nabagram, Kandi, Barwan, Beldanga and Khargram. In 2021, the party had won only two segments, Murshidabad and Behrampore, while the Trinamool Congress had secured 20 seats.
Murshidabad appears to be the worst-affected district due to the SIR. Out of 11,01,145 adjudicated voters, 4,55,137 were deemed ineligible. In total, 7,48,959 names were deleted from the district’s rolls. Deletions across several Assembly constituencies in the district are notably high, especially in the minority-dominated belt along the Indo-Bangladesh border. Constituencies such as Samserganj, Lalgola, Bhagabangola, Raghunathganj, Farakka, Suti and Jangipur have recorded average deletions exceeding 60,000 voters each.
Samserganj recorded the highest number of ineligible voters in the state at 91,712, followed by Lalgola with 68,475. With an overall reduction of approximately 12 per cent in total voters after the SIR exercise, the Muslim vote share in the state has also declined by more than five per cent.
The total number of voters in the state now stands at around 6.76 crore following the revision, compared to 7.66 crore before the SIR. According to Election Commission of India (ECI) statistics, the number of deleted voters is significantly higher than the margins by which the Trinamool Congress had led the BJP in more than 15 districts during the previous Assembly polls.
For instance, in the Kolkata electoral district, which comprises 11 Assembly constituencies all won by the Trinamool Congress in 2021, around 6.97 lakh voters were deleted, while the party had previously led by 4.55 lakh votes over the BJP.
In this election, the BJP has made notable gains in Kolkata by winning constituencies such as Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Cossipore-Belgachhia, Maniktala, Rashbehari and Bhabanipur, dealing a major setback to the Trinamool Congress.
In North 24 Parganas, another bordering district with 33 Assembly seats, approximately 12.07 lakh voter names were deleted following the SIR, despite the Trinamool Congress having previously led by 9.13 lakh votes. While the party had secured 28 seats in 2021 compared to the BJP’s five, the BJP has now won 21 seats in the district.
BJP insiders stated that, although a full assessment is still underway, women voters in the state are estimated to have swung by at least five per cent in favour of the party. They also credited the SIR exercise with ensuring that only bona fide voters were able to participate in the electoral process.
Political observers believe that the reduction in Muslim voters may have significantly influenced the election outcome. In the previous Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress had secured more than 95 per cent of the 90 seats with 30 per cent or higher Muslim populations across both southern and northern districts. However, this figure has declined sharply in the current election.
Mamata Banerjee, who has served as Chief Minister since 2011, has protested against the deletion of 27 lakh adjudicated voters in the state.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, she alleged a “loot of seats”.
“They deleted 90 lakh names during the SIR. When we approached the court, 32 lakh names were reinstated… They played dirty, nasty and mischievous games. I have never seen such an election in my life,” she said.
Earlier, during a campaign rally, Banerjee had stated: “They are intentionally deleting voters in huge numbers in Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Bhabanipur. But why? The BJP is planning to win the elections by deleting names.”
