EC data on draft electoral rolls in WB busts BJP's 'one cr infiltrators' claim, says TMC's Abhishek

Kolkata, Dec 17 (PTI) TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said the Election Commission’s SIR draft electoral rolls have exposed the BJP’s "lies that West Bengal hosts one crore Rohingyas and Bangladeshis”, and demanded an apology from the saffron party for what he called a sustained campaign to malign the state.

The commission on Tuesday published the state's draft electoral rolls following Special Intensive Revision (SIR), deleting the names of more than 58 lakh voters on various grounds, including death and migration.

“Those who claimed there are one crore infiltrators in Bengal now stand exposed. The Election Commission itself has exposed the lies of the BJP,” Banerjee said, referring to the EC data that pegs the number of ‘fake’ or ‘ghost’ voters at around 1.83 lakhs.

He also said, “They should now apologise before the people of Bengal for maligning the state before the country by repeatedly calling it a hub of infiltrators." According to the EC data, the number of voters identified as ‘fake’ or ‘ghost’ falls far short of the claims repeatedly made by BJP leaders.

“The way the BJP has been maligning us by calling all Bengalis Bangladeshis is shameful. This should stop now, and they should apologise,” Banerjee said.

He added that the SIR exercise was still at a provisional stage.

“There is no need to overthink. There are still around 45 days available for claims and objections,” the TMC leader said.

The Diamond Harbour MP also targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the infiltration narrative.

“If there is indeed infiltration into Bengal, then Amit Shah should respond to it. Border security is under the central government,” he said.

The draft rolls, released after a month-long process of enumeration, verification and scrutiny ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, detail deletions on grounds ranging from death and permanent migration to duplication and non-submission of enumeration forms.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had earlier alleged that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and Rohingyas, whom he described as infiltrators, were present in huge numbers in Bengal and had influenced electoral outcomes, urging the Election Commission to take decisive action against such voters. PTI PNT BDC