Heyn 27 February, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee directed her party’s rank and file to investigate the state’s list of voters and identify “outsiders”, who have made it on the list.
Ms. Banerjee alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with the “blessings” of the Election Commission of India (ECI) has included citizens of other states in the list of West Bengal voters. Citing examples of voters with photo identity card (EPIC) number of equal voters being nominated in West Bengal and other states, he said that the intention to include such “outsiders” in West Bengal voter list was to influence the assembly elections, which are scheduled for 2026.
The Chief Minister has told his party leaders that in each assembly constituency, there are 20,000-30,000 voters who are “not residents of the state” and the major opposition party in the state is likely to bow to the balance in favor of BJP. He said that elections in the state would have no meaning if “outsiders” were not removed from the list of voters.
On 2 March, ECI issued a statement. It states, “It is clear that while the epic numbers of some voters may be the same, demographic details, assembly constituency and other details including polling booths are different for voters with the same epic number.” Despite this assurance, Trinmool leaders are going from door -door to investigate the list of voters in various parts of the state.
The BJP also believes that the list of voters in West Bengal is full of “outsiders”. However, its idea of ”outsiders” is different from Trinmool. The BJP leadership stressed that 17 lakh voters admitted in the list of voters of the state are “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh whose names should be removed from the list before the assembly elections.
By the 1970s, West Bengal was a center of industries. People from different parts of the country come to the state in search of jobs. A significant part of voters in West Bengal is therefore included people with roots in other states; He is known as’ non-Bengalis “speakers. In addition, West Bengal was also a destination for those who left Bangladesh before and after the liberation war of 1971. Bangladesh shares 4,096 km long land border with five states in India; West Bengal alone is 2,216 km. Are, but culturally and linguistic are associated with the people of West Bengal.
By challenging the list of voters, both Trinmool and BJP are trying to determine their related campaigns for the 2026 elections. There are similarities between his current campaigns and 2021 assembly elections. Then Trinamool highlighted the Bengali sub-nationalism and dominated the religious polarization of the BJP’s story.
Ms. Banerjee is saying that “Bengal will not be administered by outsiders.” So far, Trinmool has been able to portray the BJP as a party of “outsiders”, whose leaders come from Gujarat and speak Hindi. In the last decade, Ms. Banerjee is able to convince the majority of voters that the BJP is “full of”Bohiragato (External) “and” bungalow Bodle (Those who oppose Bengal) ”. The campaign worked for him in 2021 and is set to launch his pole campaign with similar lines for 2026.
The BJP, which has put all its bets on the polarization of Hindu votes, sees political upheaval in Bangladesh as an opportunity. BJP leaders in West Bengal are continuously increasing the issue of attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. He argues that West Bengal will “route to Bangladesh” if there is no change in power in the state. They have already left to reach Muslim voters, including about 27% of the state’s population. BJP leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition, have said that there is no point in being a ‘minority’. Front (Minority Wing) ‘When the party does not get any vote from Muslims.
Therefore, the concerns of BJP and Trinmool about discrepancies in the list of voters are political in nature. Trinmool is finding out the names of the residents of Hindi speaking states and the BJP is looking for people originating in Bangladesh. Both sides can speed up these campaigns in the coming months.
Published – March 04, 2025 01:46 AM IST