Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee on Friday alleged that nearly 63% of the 91 lakh deleted voters, under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), are Hindus.
Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said that deletions occurred in phases—58 lakh names in the initial list, followed by 6 lakh more, and another 27 lakh from adjudication—taking the total to around 90–91 lakh.
“Out of these, about 63% are Hindus,” he claimed, citing internal party analysis, though these figures remain unverified independently.
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Banerjee also criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for repeatedly raising the issue of infiltration during campaign speeches.
His remarks came shortly after Shah unveiled the BJP's 15-point election manifesto, promising a “detect, delete and deport” policy to tackle illegal immigration if voted to power in the state.
“I expected the Home Minister to apologise to the people of Bengal for the alleged harassment during the SIR process over the past six months,” Banerjee said, alleging that the exercise was being used as a tool for political targeting.
According to data cited in the report, West Bengal's voter base has declined by nearly 12%, from 7.66 crore electors in October 2025 to about 6.75 crore now. In comparison, there were 7.34 crore voters during the 2021 Assembly elections.
An internal TMC analysis claims that of the deleted names, 57.47 lakh (63.4%) were Hindus and 31.1 lakh (34.3%) were Muslims, though these figures could not be independently verified.
Banerjee further alleged that such actions were consistent with past incidents, referring to the NRC process in Assam, and accused the BJP of targeting Bengali-speaking populations in various states.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also accused the BJP of removing over 90 lakh names from voter rolls to gain electoral advantage, stressing that the TMC would still retain power in the upcoming elections.
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On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Asansol, alleged that Hindus in the state were facing intimidation under TMC rule. He alleged that tactics similar to past political violence were being repeated.
Banerjee also questioned the Centre's stance on Sheikh Hasina, asking whether she would be considered an “infiltrator” given her reported stay in India.
The political sparring comes ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, scheduled in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting set for May 4.
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