‘Allow excluded voters to vote’: Mamata slams voter list freeze amid SIR row, to move Supreme Court

Banerjee strongly opposed the exclusion of 91 lakh voters from the electoral rolls and criticised the Election Commission of India for freezing the voter list.

The Trinamool Congress supremo made the remarks after filing her nomination from the Bhabanipur constituency for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Mamata Banerjee during her roadshow on the way to nomination filing in her constituency Bhabanipur. Photo: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

What did she say?

Addressing the press outside Survey Building in Kalighat, Banerjee said, “I joined the nomination filing with a heavy heart, as a massive number of people have been dropped from the electoral roll.

“The restoration of 32 lakh voters is a result of my approach to the Supreme Court. However, the remaining 58 lakh deleted cases remain unaddressed. What is the use of late inclusion if voters are unable to exercise their mandate in the upcoming elections?”

She added, “More than 27 lakh voters who are under adjudication are yet to be retained in the electoral list. I believe they should be granted voting rights. The Supreme Court has also observed that those under adjudication are genuine voters, and those yet to be retained will appeal to the tribunal.

“In this context, I fail to understand the rationale behind freezing the voter list. We will once again move the Supreme Court on this matter.”

‘Confident of winning Bengal elections’

Banerjee exuded confidence in not only retaining her Bhabanipur seat but also securing a victory for her party.

She is set to face Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman Suvendu Adhikari who is contesting from Nandigram.

“My entire political career is rooted in Bhabanipur. As I file my nomination, I appeal to the people to elect all TMC candidates across the state. We are confident of forming the government,” she said.

Banerjee had lost to Adhikari by a margin of just over 1,900 votes in Nandigram in the 2021 Assembly elections.