Abhishek Banerjee alleges Election Commission of India undermined Supreme Court orders via WhatsApp directives, flags voter roll manipulation

Senior All India Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of India of bypassing legal procedures and flouting Supreme Court directives in managing electoral roll activities.

In a strongly worded message on his WhatsApp channel, Banerjee questioned whether the poll panel considered Supreme Court orders dispensable, highlighting the use of informal WhatsApp communications instead of formal, accountable channels.

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Banerjee pointed to troubling reports that Special Roll Observer C. Murugan issued instructions on the acceptability of birth certificates directly to Micro Observers through WhatsApp groups, allegedly to inflate deletion numbers.

He cited the Supreme Court’s clear mandate that micro-observers serve only an assistive role, questioning the circumvention of statutory procedures and the source of such directives.

Further, Banerjee alleged misuse of login credentials meant for district-level Roll Observers, claiming that centralized access from Kolkata was targeting specific communities under political influence from Delhi. He warned that discrepancies in login data locations could be independently verified.

Stressing that the Election Commission’s legitimacy stems from public trust—not political backing—Banerjee vowed to challenge these practices in the highest court and warned of stringent legal action against those collaborating with Delhi’s “zamindars.”

These explosive allegations emerge amid rising tensions in West Bengal over electoral roll revisions and poll observer conduct, with the ECI maintaining that it adheres to judicial and procedural norms. Political analysts suggest that a Supreme Court petition could intensify scrutiny of voter roll processes and the role of digital communication in election oversight.