Over 50 lakh infiltrators removed from Bengal voter list: BJP chief Nitin Nabin

Cooch Behar, Mar 1 (PTI) A day after the publication of West Bengal's post-SIR electoral rolls that saw 63.66 lakh names deleted, BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Sunday claimed that "more than 50 lakh infiltrators" had been removed from the voter list and asserted that "time is up for illegal immigrants" in the state.

Addressing a rally in Cooch Behar while flagging off the party's 'Poriborton Yatra', Nabin alleged that those removed from the electoral rolls were "infiltrators" who had been availing government jobs and benefits of welfare schemes meant for genuine citizens.

"More than 50 lakh infiltrators have been removed from the voter list. These infiltrators were not only violating the rights of legitimate citizens, but also jeopardising the security of the country," he said.

Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of shielding illegal migrants, Nabin alleged that she had provided "protection to infiltrators by helping them obtain fake documents".

"Mamata Banerjee rushed to the courts to protect infiltrators in the voter rolls, as they are her party's vote bank. For the sake of these infiltrators, you even approach the courts at midnight. Yet, when women face humiliation, you choose to look the other way," he said in a sharp attack on the All India Trinamool Congress leadership.

"Our message to the infiltrators is that the time has now come to drive them out from the soil of Bengal. We must not only drive out infiltrators, but also establish a decisive government that can connect the people here with development," he added.

The BJP chief alleged that several central schemes were not being implemented properly in the state. "Those schemes that Mamata Didi treats with stepmotherly behaviour in implementing here, we will implement them here, come what may," he said.

Invoking the slogan 'Maa, Mati, Manush' that the TMC had used before coming to power, Nabin alleged that the promise of "Sonar Bangla" had not materialised.

"Mamata Didi, is this the dream of Sonar Bangla that you had shown, where there is only corruption, anarchy and exploitation of the people? The youth who were supposed to see an IT hub are now witnessing thuggery. Where there was supposed to be development, it has become a hub of scams," he said, adding that the Poriborton Yatra was aimed at holding the government accountable.

He also attacked the ruling party over cultural and religious issues.

Alleging "appeasement politics", he said, "We are required to seek permission from the court to perform Kali Puja, yet no such restrictions apply to observing 'namaaz'. When we request land to build a border fence in Bengal, Mamata claims there is no land available and delays the process. However, when it comes to appeasement, she readily extends every possible courtesy." Nabin said the yatra would span over 5,000 km and reach every household in the state.

"Where only promises and arrogance had reached so far, the BJP is arriving with the voice of change. These changes are not merely about altering the system, but about transforming the mindset. With positive thinking, we will sow the seeds of a new Bengal and realise the dream of a developed state," he said.

His 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.

While the BJP has described the deletions as a corrective step to weed out "infiltrators", the ruling TMC has maintained that the exercise risks disenfranchising genuine voters and has accused the saffron party of attempting to polarise the electorate ahead of the Assembly polls. PTI PNT BDC MNB