Mamata Banerjee Makes Big Charge, Accuses BJP of Deploying Agencies To Manipulate Voter Rolls Ahead of Bengal 2026 Elections

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made serious allegations on Thursday, claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is involved in an elaborate plot to manipulate voter data in the state ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. Addressing party workers in a mass gathering, Banerjee alleged that BJP had dispatched an agency to Bengal for the purpose of tampering with the electoral rolls, specifically targeting the voter list through a process of online data manipulation.

"The cat is out of the bag…," Mamata Banerjee said, revealing that the agency responsible for the alleged manipulation is named "Association of Billion Minds," along with a subsidiary called "India 360." According to Banerjee, these agencies have been carrying out voter data updates online, a process she claims is being conducted at the behest of the Election Commission of India.

Banerjee presented a stack of documents to back her claims, saying the agencies were involved in replacing the names of existing Bengal voters with those of individuals from other states, such as Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, and Gujarat, without altering the unique EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers. In her accusation, Banerjee claimed that this method of tampering had been used previously in states like Maharashtra and Delhi during elections to manipulate results.

“These agencies are replacing the names of people from Bengal with the names of individuals from other states—Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, and Bihar—without changing the EPIC number. For instance, I have documents showing that voters in Murshidabad, such as Mohammad Shahidul Islam and Mohammad Ali Hussain, have had their names swapped with people from Haryana and Gujarat. The EPIC number stays the same, but the name on the card is altered,” Banerjee said.

She further alleged that this tactic is designed to create "ghost voters" from other states, who would later be used to manipulate the polls. "Their plan is to bring in these ghost voters before the elections and then fudge the polls. They have done this in Maharashtra and Delhi. There, they couldn’t catch the game, but we have caught them already," she asserted.

In an appeal to the people of Bengal, Banerjee urged them to stay vigilant and ensure that their voter data was correct. "We need to be very alert and ensure there is no fudging of voter data. I will urge the people of Bengal to ensure their voter data is properly enlisted, or else tomorrow they will strike you off the country through NRC and CAA," she warned, referencing the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which have faced strong opposition in Bengal.

Banerjee went on to name specific individuals whose voter cards she claimed had been altered. She read out the names of Mohammad Shahidul Islam from Raninagar, whose EPIC number had allegedly been replaced by Sonia Devi from Haryana, and Mohammad Ali Hussain’s EPIC number, which had supposedly been updated to match that of an individual named Manjeet from Haryana.

“Will Haryana and Gujarat vote in Bengal? If need be, there will be another revolt against such practices to keep the state safe from BJP’s game plan,” she added defiantly.
The Chief Minister also accused the agencies of bypassing regular field surveys and colluding with some assistant returning officers and data operators to manipulate the electoral rolls. "The people working for these agencies have not conducted any field surveys. With the help of some assistant returning officers and data operators, they are manipulating the electoral rolls," she alleged.

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) will be seeking to solidify its political base and run for a fourth term in the state, while the BJP is eyeing a significant push to gain ground. The Election Commission is yet to respond to the allegations, but the claims have sparked a political storm in the state. 2021 election battle in Bengal has been one of the most high voltage in the history of Indian elections. While BJP conceded defeat but the saffron party after to three back to back victories- Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi - has renewed their vision to win Bengal come the 2026 elections. Even after a strong campaign, BJP lost substantially in 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Bengal, TMC won 29 seats and BJP came down to 12 from 18 in 2019​