Kolkata, March 4 As the West Bengal assembly elections approach, an unlikely political alignment is taking shape, with the ruling TMC, the opposition CPI(M) and Congress raising similar concerns about the post-electoral roll revision process.
The key issue is the Election Commission's roll revision, which has resulted in around 63.66 lakh names being removed, while nearly 60 lakh voters are in an "under adjudication" category, leading to protests across the political spectrum, except the BJP.
This issue is expected to reach a political climax on Friday when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee plans to stage a protest at Dharmatala in central Kolkata, a move the TMC hopes will transform the technical dispute over voter rolls into a broader campaign around "voting rights."
Sources within the ruling party say discussions are underway on potential scenarios that could arise from the ongoing revision process.
One possibility being discussed within TMC circles is that the Election Commission could announce the assembly elections while leaving a large number of voters in the "under adjudication" category unresolved.
Another scenario being considered is a phased disposal of cases, allowing the remaining voters to remain outside the final rolls, effectively disenfranchising them during the election.
For the Trinamool Congress, both scenarios represent a political opportunity.
Senior TMC leaders argue that even if a voter's name has been deleted, they can still apply for inclusion through Form 6, but those with names marked "under adjudication" remain in a state of uncertainty, unable to vote or immediately reapply.
"This means lakhs of voters could be kept in a state of uncertainty. That is a direct attack on democratic rights," a senior TMC leader said, hinting at the political messaging likely to emerge from Banerjee's protest.
TMC leaders are also considering a more dramatic possibility. The unresolved issue of voter lists could be used as a pretext for imposing President's Rule in the state before the elections, a scenario the party describes as a "political conspiracy."
The party's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, has already indicated that the matter may be pursued legally, even as the TMC prepares for a sustained political campaign on the ground.
At the same time, the party leadership is also discussing an emotional appeal to voters, urging those who are eligible to vote to remember those who could not because their names were pending under adjudication.
The issue has also brought together opposition parties who are normally rivals.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front organized a march to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office on Wednesday, demanding that the electoral rolls be corrected before elections are announced.
Speaking at the programme, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim alleged that the revision exercise had resulted in widespread harassment of voters.
"The Election Commission has turned into a torture Commission. First, prepare a correct voter list. Elections cannot be held after deleting genuine voters," Salim said.
He warned that Left activists were prepared to stage an indefinite protest outside the CEO's office if necessary, in response to a call issued by Left Front chairman Biman Bose.
The Congress also intensified its criticism of the poll panel.
Congress Working Committee member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding that elections should not be announced until the status of voters under adjudication is settled.
State Congress president Subhankar Sarkar questioned why "such inconsistencies" had surfaced only in West Bengal.
"Why have over 60 lakh citizens been kept under adjudication? Even a single valid voter being excluded would be a grave assault on democracy," he said.
The BJP, however, has adopted a different approach.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said the issue falls within the domain of the Election Commission and the judiciary, though he added that complaints submitted through Form 7 seeking deletion of names must also be resolved before elections are held.
Meanwhile, Election Commission sources have indicated that many names remain under adjudication because supporting information has not yet been uploaded, and the role of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant EROs is now under scrutiny.
The Trinamool Congress has rejected this explanation.
"They are trying to rush through the process and now the Commission wants to shift the blame on EROs," TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said.
Beyond the bureaucratic explanation lies a deeper political battle.
The roll revision exercise has unfolded against the backdrop of the BJP's long-running campaign on "large-scale infiltration" from Bangladesh to West Bengal, an issue the party has been aggressively highlighting ahead of the elections.
Opposition parties, however, argue that the voter list revision is turning into a political weapon that could disproportionately affect minorities, Hindu refugees, Adivasis and other marginalized communities.
With the elections approaching, the dispute over electoral rolls is rapidly transforming into a larger narrative battle over citizenship, infiltration and voting rights -- themes that are likely to dominate Bengal's political discourse in the weeks ahead.