Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, started a sit-in protest in Kolkata against the alleged deletion of voters’ names from the electoral rolls. The protest comes ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections and has sparked fresh political debate in the state.
Banerjee staged the dharna along with leaders and supporters of her party, the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). She accused the Election Commission of India of removing genuine voters from the list. According to her, many eligible voters have reportedly found their names missing from the electoral rolls during the recent revision process.
Speaking at the protest site, Banerjee said the deletion of voter names could affect people’s democratic rights. She alleged that the move might benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming elections. The chief minister claimed that several people who are alive have even been marked as deceased in the voter list.
The voter list is currently being updated through a special revision process carried out by the Election Commission. Officials say such revisions are done to remove duplicate, incorrect or outdated entries from the electoral rolls. However, the large number of deleted names has led to concerns among political parties and voters.
Banerjee said her party would continue to oppose any action that prevents people from exercising their right to vote. She also urged citizens to check their names in the voter list and report any errors to the authorities.
Several TMC leaders and workers joined the protest, turning the dharna into a major political demonstration in the city. The party said it would raise the issue at different levels to ensure that eligible voters are not left out of the electoral rolls.
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