In a strongly worded letter to the Gyanesh Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner of India, senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly, has accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of issuing “blatant and audacious threats” to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, a constitutional representative of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The letter, sent on Friday, alleges that the chief minister, during a Press conference held earlier in the day at the state secretariat in the presence of the chief secretary, made baseless accusations against the CEO and attempted to intimidate him through veiled threats. Citing her remarks, “I hope he doesn’t overreact or play aggressively,” the complainant described the comments as an attempt to “blackmail and undermine” an officer entrusted with protecting the integrity of the democratic process. “This is not an isolated incident,” the letter of Mr Adhikari further stated, recalling that on 28 July, during an administrative meeting in Bolpur, Ms Banerjee had allegedly threatened Booth Level Officers (BLOs) — who are state government employees — warning them of “consequences” if they removed any names from the voters’ list.
The complainant alleged that the chief minister’s statement implied that once the elections were over, those officials would face retribution. According to the complaint, the ECI’s earlier inaction over such remarks has emboldened the chief minister, culminating in direct attacks on a constitutional officer.
“The ECI must act decisively to safeguard the independence of the electoral machinery and reaffirm that no one, not even a chief minister, stands above the law,” the letter concluded.