Trinamul Congress chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with Booth Level Agents (BLA-2s) and councillors from the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency.
She issued a series of directives amid growing concerns over large-scale deletion of names from the electoral rolls. This was the second such meeting in recent weeks, following an earlier interaction with BLAs on 16 December. Party sources said the Chief Minister described the upcoming election as “extremely important” and urged party workers to intensify their efforts at the grassroots level.
“This is a fight against malpractice. You have all been working day and night, but the next few days will require even more effort. Go door to door, reach out to people and carry out more rigorous scrutiny,” she told the BLA2s and councillors, according to sources present at the meeting.
Ms Banerjee reportedly asked party workers to pay special attention to Wards 63 and 72, where concerns have been raised over discrepancies in the voters’ list. She also sought detailed information on cases where voters were called for hearings on grounds of “logical discrepancies” and subsequently faced the possibility of deletion from the final electoral roll.
“I want the list of those who were called for hearings and whose names are being removed from the final list,” she said, sources added. Referring specifically to Ward 77, the Chief Minister alleged that a large number of names were being “deliberately” deleted.
All daily reports on the scrutiny process have been directed to be submitted to senior Trinamul leaders Firhad Hakim and Debashis Kumar, who will, in turn, brief the Chief Minister. Councillors were also cautioned to remain vigilant and proactive during the verification process.
According to data released by the Election Commission of India, the total number of voters in the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency stands at 2,06,295. However, only 1,61,509 names figure in the digitised or verified electoral roll. This means that around 44,786 voters ~ approximately 21.71 per cent of the electorate ~ have been excluded from the draft list.
A significant portion of the deleted names has reportedly been marked as “dead” in the ECI records, triggering sharp reactions from the ruling party.
Bhowanipore Assembly constituency comprises Wards 63, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77 and 82 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Trinamul sources indicated that the highest number of deletions has occurred in Wards 70, 72 and 77. Ward 77, in particular, is a minority-dominated area, prompting the party leadership to instruct BLAs to exercise special caution during scrutiny.
The issue of voter list revision has emerged as a major political flashpoint in the run-up to the polls, with the Trinamul Congress alleging targeted deletions, while the Election Commission maintains that the process is being conducted as per established norms.