ABHISHEK BANERJEE FLAGS WHATSAPP SCREENSHOTS OVER ALLEGED 30-LAKH VOTER DELETION PLAN

September 24, 2026

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday shared screenshots of an April WhatsApp conversation, alleging that the material raised questions about a plan to delete around 30 lakh names from West Bengal’s electoral rolls. He said the screenshots required an explanation amid the ongoing controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Banerjee said the screenshots were from a WhatsApp group of election observers and alleged that they pointed to a “conspiracy” to remove 30 lakh voters. He also questioned Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Chief Justice of India Surya Kant over what he described as serious questions arising from the material. The authenticity and context of the screenshots have not been independently verified.

The issue comes amid continuing scrutiny of the Bengal SIR exercise. The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that 27.16 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls, while more than 22 lakh subsequently appealed for restoration.

The controversy intensified after reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on multiple occasions concerning electoral-roll procedures. The Election Commission has maintained that such internal observations are part of institutional deliberations and that final SIR-related decisions were taken unanimously.