We defeated them in court today, will trounce them during polls: Abhishek

Kolkata: Reacting to the Supreme Court’s directive on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday said the verdict had protected the democratic rights of the people and would translate into a decisive mandate against the BJP in the upcoming April elections.

Addressing the Rana Sankalpa Sabha in Barasat, Banerjee asserted that the TMC will win all 33 seats in North 24-Parganas. Regarding the Opposition, he also stated: “This time the BJP won’t even get 50 seats in Bengal.”

Welcoming the apex court’s order, Banerjee said the Election Commission of India had been directed to publish and display the list of voters flagged under “logical discrepancies,” and allow Booth Level Agent-2 representatives at hearing venues.

“We defeated them in court today, we will trounce them during the Assembly polls in April. Stay prepared,” stated the TMC national general secretary.

The order is “two tight slaps on the faces of those who tried to deprive people of their fundamental right to vote”, remarked the TMC leader.

Alleging widespread irregularities in the SIR process, Banerjee claimed that nearly one crore legitimate voters were at risk of being removed from the electoral rolls.

He also alleged that several living citizens had been wrongly declared “dead” during the revision exercise, and presented five voters who had been termed dead in the draft list. “This is not just administrative failure; it is an assault on democracy,” he said.

Banerjee further accused the BJP of selectively targeting Bengal through the SIR exercise because of its political inability to win the state. He said the process had disproportionately harassed the poor, elderly, women and marginalised, many of whom possessed valid documents.

Linking the issue to Bengal’s cultural and historical identity, Banerjee said the state had never bowed to “outsider domination” and would resist any attempt to undermine its language and heritage. He accused BJP leaders of repeatedly insulting Bengali culture and questioning the legitimacy of the language spoken by icons such as Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

“This is not Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat. Bengal has shown the path during the freedom movement and the Renaissance,” he said.

Banerjee asserted that the Supreme Court’s intervention had restored transparency to the electoral process and strengthened public confidence. He predicted that the verdict would energise party workers and voters alike, resulting in a comprehensive electoral rejection of the BJP in Bengal.