West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to launch a sit-in protest in Kolkata on Friday, alleging large-scale deletions from the electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The protest is expected to intensify the political atmosphere in the state just days before the scheduled visit of the full bench of the Election Commission of India. As per the information, the demonstration is set to begin at 2 pm at the Esplanade Metro Channel in central Kolkata. The plan for the protest was announced earlier by Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress.
'Politically motivated' voter deletions
Addressing the issue earlier, Abhishek Banerjee accused the Election Commission of conducting a "politically motivated" exercise that could disenfranchise lakhs of voters months before the assembly polls.
The protest represents a major political escalation by the ruling Trinamool Congress, especially after the publication of the post-SIR electoral rolls that have significantly altered the composition of the state's electorate.
He stated that the party strongly opposes the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. "We are against this Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, in which legitimate voters have been deleted," he had said.
Over 63 lakh names removed from electoral rolls
According to official figures released on February 28, nearly 63.66 lakh names have been removed from the voter list since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) began in November last year. This accounts for about 8.3 per cent of the electorate.
The total number of voters in West Bengal has reportedly fallen from around 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore following the revision process.
Officials also said that more than 60.06 lakh voters have been placed under the "under adjudication" category. Their eligibility will be determined through legal scrutiny in the coming weeks. This process could further alter the electoral landscape in several constituencies.
Allegations of targeting minority and migrant voters
Leaders of the Trinamool Congress have alleged that minority communities, migrant labourers and economically weaker sections have been disproportionately affected by the deletions. Abhishek Banerjee further claimed that the scale of deletions had been predetermined even before the revision process began. According to him, the Election Commission had already set a target for the large-scale removal of voters. He alleged that the "target of deleting over one crore voters was decided even before the exercise began".
Mamata Banerjee may announce next political move
The Trinamool Congress leadership indicated that Mamata Banerjee may outline the party's next course of action during the protest. The sit-in comes at a politically sensitive time as West Bengal prepares for the upcoming assembly elections, with tensions rising between the ruling party and the Election Commission over the voter list revision.
West Bengal Assembly elections 2026
It is to be noted that the legislative Assembly elections are expected to be held in West Bengal in April-May 2026 to elect all 294 members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Election Commission of India is yet to announce the dates for the polls. The tenure of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on May 7, 2026. The previous assembly elections were held in March-April 2021. After the election, the incumbent Trinamool Congress formed the state government again after winning 215 out of 294 seats in the assembly, with Mamata Banerjee sworn in as the Chief Minister.
