Abhishek Banerjee Accuses CEC of ‘Losing Temper’ During Meeting on SIR in Bengal

Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the poll panel failed to address concerns raised by his party over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting with the Election Commission, Banerjee claimed that the CEC behaved aggressively while interacting with a 10-member TMC delegation that flagged alleged irregularities in the draft voter list.

"When we started talking, he (CEC) started losing his temper... I said you are nominated, I am elected... If he has the guts, he should release the footage," Banerjee said.

According to Banerjee, the delegation highlighted multiple issues related to the SIR exercise, including the summoning of around 1.36 crore voters for hearings. He alleged that instead of responding to these concerns, the Chief Election Commissioner reacted angrily during the discussion. He asserted that the party would not accept the final electoral roll if discrepancies remained unresolved.

He further alleged that the Election Commission failed to provide satisfactory clarifications on the issues raised by the party. When asked whether the Trinamool Congress would accept the final electoral roll once the SIR process is completed, Banerjee said, "If it has discrepancies, why would we accept it? We would fight it legally."

Banerjee accused the Election Commission of singling out West Bengal and attempting to tarnish the state’s image by repeatedly raising what he described as the “bogey of infiltration”. He challenged the poll body to make public the details of alleged illegal voters.

"There is selective targeting and allegations of infiltration, which are leaked to malign West Bengal. We asked the CEC to come out with a list showing how many Bangladeshis or Rohingyas have actually been found in the state," Banerjee said.

The TMC leader also reiterated his party’s allegation of “vote chori” (vote theft), claiming that manipulation of electoral rolls—not electronic voting machines—was being used to disenfranchise voters. He argued that opposition parties could have secured victories in states such as Maharashtra, Haryana and Bihar had the issue been confronted more aggressively at the grassroots level.

Accusing the authorities of turning electoral rolls into a political tool, Banerjee called on opposition parties to concentrate on verifying voter lists rather than focusing solely on electronic voting machines.

"I appeal to everyone: vote chori is happening in the voters' list, not through EVMs. You don't know what algorithm or software is being used to disenfranchise people. The electoral roll is being weaponised," he said.

He also questioned the retrospective introduction of a new classification termed “logical discrepancies”, under which nearly 1.36 crore voters have reportedly been asked to appear for hearings. These include cases involving mismatches in parental names and perceived inconsistencies in age differences between parents and children.

The Trinamool Congress delegation that met the Election Commission included Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien, MPs Saket Gokhale, Ritabrata Banerjee and Mamata Thakur, along with West Bengal ministers Manas Bhunia, Pradip Mazumdar and Chandrima Bhattacharya.​