West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the ruling Trinamul Congress while addressing an election rally in Chanchal, Malda, alleging large-scale electoral manipulation in the state.
Claiming that past elections were compromised, Bhattacharya said: “The practice of switching off CCTV cameras after 2 p.m. to facilitate irregularities will not happen this time.” He asserted that enhanced surveillance inside polling booths would ensure transparency. “Two cameras inside booths will function so actively that candidates will be able to monitor polling live from their mobile phones. Even the Election Commission of India, the general public, and as state president, I too will be able to track voting patterns booth-wise,” he said.
He alleged that such measures would put an end to “booth capturing and fraudulent voting,” adding that the upcoming election would be “a very tough one.”
Raising concerns over voter lists, Bhattacharya claimed that names of many legitimate voters had been deleted. He blamed the Trinamul Congress for allegedly using state government machinery to disrupt the revision process. “Our Form 7 submissions were not allowed to be uploaded. We wanted to remove illegal infiltrators from the voter list, but the state government obstructed the process,” he alleged.
Targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he accused her of denying the issue of infiltration. Drawing a historical parallel, Bhattacharya referred to a 2005 parliamentary incident, alleging that concerns over inclusion of illegal names in voter rolls had been raised even then.
In a dramatic remark, he criticised the Chief Minister’s recent legal interventions, saying, “It is unprecedented in India for a sitting Chief Minister to appear in the Supreme Court in a political manner.”
The BJP leader also alleged widespread irregularities in recruitment, claiming that nearly 40,000 jobs in the education sector had been “sold,” including Group D positions even at Chief Minister’s Office. He further accused the state government of politicising the police force.
Referring to alleged anomalies in official records, Bhattacharya used a metaphor from the Mahabharata, comparing the situation to “Dhritarashtra-like irregularities,” pointing to inconsistencies in age and family data in official documents.
Invoking Malda’s historical context during Partition, he urged voters to exercise caution. “Vote in such a way that Malda never faces uncertainty about its place in India again,” he said, noting that parts of the district formally became part of India days after Independence in 1947.
Addressing minority voters, Bhattacharya said, “The Central government does not discriminate on religious lines. All welfare schemes ~ from free ration to housing ~ are meant for every citizen.”
He concluded by assuring that all existing state schemes would continue if the BJP comes to power, alongside full implementation of central government projects.