Suvendu Adhikari Claims 1 Crore Fake and Illegal Voters in Bengal, Urges ECI Action

West Bengal's Opposition Leader, Suvendu Adhikari, has claimed that around one crore names on the state’s voter list are fake or illegal. He said these include Rohingya migrants, Bangladeshi Muslims, dead people, repeated names, and other false entries.

Adhikari asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to look into this matter seriously and take out these names from the voter list. He told the media on Saturday, “There are almost one crore Rohingyas, Bangladeshi Muslims, dead people, duplicate names, and fake voters in West Bengal. The ECI should clean up the voter list so that it remains fair and correct.”

BJP Leaders Demand Voter List Clean-Up

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar also talked about this on Saturday. He said that the Election Commission should carry out a special check of West Bengal’s voter list, just like it is doing in Bihar now. This check is called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

He said, “SIR is a common step taken by the Election Commission. West Bengal also had an SIR done back in 2002. At that time, 20 lakh names were removed from the list. It's the job of the ECI to keep the voter list correct. A clean voter list is important for a strong democracy.”

TMC Leader Criticizes the Move

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee mocked this revision and called it “Silent Invisible Rigging.” He blamed the Election Commission for working in support of the BJP and claimed that real voters are being removed unfairly.

He pointed out an odd case where a dog was given a residential certificate while actual citizens were being removed. “In the name of SIR, citizens are losing their voting rights. A certificate was given in a dog’s name, and the Election Commission accepted it. People cannot vote, but a dog has a certificate. The SIR they talk about is not Special Intensive Revision. It’s Silent Invisible Rigging. The ECI is helping BJP by removing those who speak against the government,” said the Trinamool MP.

Political Fight Over Voter List Continues

This issue has turned into a major point of conflict between the BJP and TMC. While BJP leaders want a full revision of the list to remove fake names, TMC claims that real voters are being targeted. The Election Commission has not yet responded to the claims made by either side.