TMC opposition to SIR stems from fear of losing illegal voters from Bangladesh: BJP leader

Kolkata, Nov 15 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Locket Chatterjee on Saturday alleged that the TMC’s opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls stems from fears of losing “illegal voters”, who had obtained documents from the state administration after “unlawfully” crossing over from Bangladesh.

Speaking to reporters at the state BJP office, Chatterjee said the recently concluded Bihar elections had demonstrated how the SIR exercise helped cleanse the voter rolls, and ensured that only genuine voters cast their ballots.

The outcome in Bihar has “terrified” the TMC, which now “sees the writing on the wall” in West Bengal, she claimed.

“Already, the SIR has resulted in deletion of names of 34 lakh deceased voters in West Bengal. Anyone can imagine how the votes of these people, who are no longer alive, might have been cast through impersonation using fake identity documents,” Chatterjee alleged.

“There is every possibility these votes contributed to TMC victories in previous elections. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and the party’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee are now panicking as they realise their game is up,” the BJP state general secretary claimed.

She asserted that given the “narrow gap” in vote share between the BJP and the TMC in recent years, the saffron party would gain a decisive advantage once only “legitimate voters” participate in the electoral process.

“You must have seen how colonies once teeming with Bangladeshis and Rohingya have begun emptying in recent days, as infiltrators who settled here with fake documents are leaving in large numbers... After Bihar, the BJP juggernaut will decimate the corrupt, infiltrator-appeasing TMC in West Bengal,” Chatterjee alleged.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, speaking at a separate programme, alleged that the TMC-led administration was “trying every trick” to stall the SIR process and undermine its objectives.

“This government is going to last only a few more months,” he asserted.

Chatterjee also said that women in Bengal were unsafe despite the state being led by a woman chief minister.

“The body of a 21-year-old was found on Friday inside the chamber of a lawyer, who had previously been seen at TMC programmes. This lawyer is absconding. The family has lodged a formal complaint, but we haven’t seen any progress in locating the accused,” she alleged.

Chatterjee further claimed that, shaken by the NDA’s victory in Bihar, the TMC was targeting BJP workers, who were peacefully celebrating the results.

“Several of our karyakartas have been assaulted in Cooch Behar and Diamond Harbour for celebrating the NDA’s win in Bihar. No action has been taken against the attackers. Contrast this with Bihar, where not a single attack was reported on RJD or Congress supporters after the results,” she said.

Meanwhile, ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, BJP national general secretary and West Bengal in-charge Sunil Bansal held an organisational meeting with the party’s Malda district committee.

A party functionary said the discussions focused on the campaign strategy, and countering the TMC’s “misleading campaign about the SIR”. PTI SUS RBT