Suvendu Adhikari Accuses Mamata Banerjee of Undermining CEC's Integrity, Writes to Election Commission

Kolkata, Feb 28: West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari has accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of questioning the integrity of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and has formally raised the matter with the Election Commission.

Adhikari, a senior BJP leader, criticized Banerjee for her remarks regarding the CEC’s appointment, asserting that an officer’s integrity cannot be questioned merely based on their past service in a particular department or ministry.

Speaking at a press conference after submitting a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, Adhikari accused Banerjee of attempting to undermine the constitutional body by making baseless allegations.

Banerjee's Allegations Against the Election Commission​

The controversy erupted after Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a Trinamool Congress (TMC) state conference at Netaji Indoor Stadium, alleged that the BJP was influencing the Election Commission by appointing Gyanesh Kumar as the CEC. She further claimed that the BJP was manipulating voter lists by adding fake names from other states, a tactic she alleged was used in the Delhi and Maharashtra elections.

In response, Adhikari countered that the Election Commission operates independently and accused Banerjee of making all constitutional bodies in West Bengal ineffective. He also expressed concerns over her directive to TMC leaders to physically verify voter lists, stating that political parties have no authority to interfere in the electoral process.

BJP’s Demands to the Election Commission​

A delegation of BJP leaders, led by Adhikari, submitted a written representation to the Election Commission, urging it to closely monitor voter list management and prevent outsourcing agencies from handling any related tasks.

Key demands made by the BJP include:

• Protection of Hindi-speaking and Matua community members from alleged illegal voter list deletions.
• Immediate correction of what they claim to be 16 lakh duplicate entries in the state's electoral rolls.
• Removal of names of illegal entrants allegedly added by the ruling TMC.
• Implementation of biometric verification by linking Aadhar and EPIC cards for elections in West Bengal.

Adhikari also urged the Election Commission to assure district officials that they can perform their duties without fear or political pressure.

As the political battle intensifies ahead of upcoming elections, this confrontation between the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP highlights growing tensions over electoral processes and administrative integrity in West Bengal.