'This time the game will be called fatafati': Mamata Banerjee targets BJP; warns of EC office gherao
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that a proper SIR exercise normally takes up to two years, while the current process is being rushed within two months.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of attempting to manipulate electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections under the guise of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Addressing a large public rally in Bankura, Banerjee alleged that the exercise was being carried out in haste and with political motives to disenfranchise voters in Bengal. Coining new campaign phrase, the TMC supremo said, "This time the game will be called fatafati."
The Chief Minister claimed that names dropped from the draft electoral rolls would ultimately remain in the final list, calling the SIR process “meaningless and dangerous.”
She asserted that a proper SIR exercise normally takes up to two years, while the current process is being rushed within two months.
“Poor people are being harassed in the name of SIR before elections,” Banerjee said, alleging that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were being pressured to delete names, with threats of jail if they refused. She further claimed that several BLOs had died during the process, highlighting what she described as excessive pressure on election officials.
Banerjee warned that nearly 1.5 crore names could be struck off from the electoral rolls, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities such as Rajbanshis, Matuas and Adivasis. She termed the exercise a “deliberate attempt to disenfranchise Bengalis” and alleged that artificial intelligence was being used to remove names arbitrarily.
“SIR conducted using AI is a huge scam,” she said, adding that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) would gherao the Election Commission’s office in Delhi if even a single legitimate voter was removed.
Mamata’s rebuttal to Amit Shah’s Bengal visit
Reacting sharply to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Bengal and his remarks on infiltration and terrorism, Banerjee rejected the claims that the state had become a hub for extremist activities.
“If Bengal had no respect for you, you would not have been allowed to step out of your hotel,” she said. Responding to Shah’s assertion that infiltration was altering Bengal’s demography, Banerjee countered that land had already been provided for border fencing in areas such as Petrapole and Changrabandha.
She also questioned the Centre’s handling of security incidents outside Bengal, referring to attacks in Pahalgam and Delhi.
The Chief Minister accused the BJP of misusing religion for political gains. “Religion means peace. You spread fire,” she questioned. Banerjee also dismissed BJP’s repeated slogan of “Shonar Bangla,” questioning how the party could promise prosperity in Bengal when, she claimed, atrocities were being committed against Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.
‘Two-thirds majority in 2026’
Earlier, addressing a press conference, Amit Shah expressed confidence that the BJP would form the government in Bengal with a two-thirds majority in 2026.
He cited the party’s steady electoral growth in the state since 2014 and accused the Mamata Banerjee government of corruption and blocking central welfare schemes. Shah also alleged that illegal infiltration was occurring with the state government’s tacit support, an accusation Banerjee strongly denied.