Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday accused the BJP of misusing the Election Commission of India (ECI), to secretly push the National Register of Citizens (NRC) agenda. The party claimed this move follows the BJP’s internal assessment that it may fall short of securing even 49 seats in the 2026 Bengal Assembly elections. At a Press conference in Delhi on Saturday, TMC MPs Derek O’Brien and Sagarika Ghose said the BJP’s internal survey projected just 46–49 seats for the party in Bengal, prompting a desperate attempt to sway the outcome by misusing the Election Commission of India. Their remarks came as the ECI conducts a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal and Bihar.
Ahead of the Kaliganj bypoll, BJP leaders campaigned around incidents in Maheshtala, Mothabari and Murshidabad to consolidate Hindu votes but the party’s vote share still declined, down 3.23 per cent from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and 2.62 per cent from the 2021 Assembly elections. With the Bihar Assembly polls nearing, the ECI has launched a voter verification drive. TMC alleged it is politically driven and aimed at manipulating the electoral process. “We say this with all due respect that the ECI is a constitutional body, but it should not turn into the branch office of the BJP. Trinamool has the highest regard for the ECI,” said Trinamool leaders. Claiming that the BJP’s internal survey was carried out in Bengal, O’Brien alleged that the drive was launched to counter the party’s poor electoral prospects. “Why has the voter verification drive suddenly been launched now? We have evidence that it’s timed to coincide with the BJP’s latest internal survey, which shows they’re projected to win only 46 to 49 seats in the Bengal Assembly polls,” he said. “In their desperation to alter the outcome, the BJP resorts to such desperate measures,” he remarked.
Raising the unresolved issue of EPIC cards in Bengal, he said: “On the issue of EPIC cards, it was in Kolkata that the Chief Minister of Bengal raised this issue. All the INDIA bloc parties, through the last session of Parliament, were on the same page. The ECI had said that by April 30, 2025, this issue would be resolved. Our question to EC is, what have you resolved?” Comparing the voter verification drive to Nazi-era practices, he said: “The EC is trying to bring in NRC through the back door. In 1935 under the Nazis, you needed an Ancestor Pass. Is this the new version - proof of paper to show you’re an Indian citizen?” He explained that under the current electoral roll revision: those born before July 1987 must submit proof of birth and birthplace; those born between July 1987 and December 2004 must provide proof for themselves and one parent; and those born after December 2004 must submit proof for themselves and both parents. “If these documents aren’t submitted within a month, your name will be deleted from the voter list,” he warned.