BENGAL BJP CHIEF SAYS CEC GYANESH KUMAR DESERVES PADMA BHUSHAN

September 25, 2026

KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Friday said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar deserves, “at the very least”, the Padma Bhushan, as the CEC faces mounting criticism from opposition parties over the Election Commission’s handling of electoral-roll revisions.

Bhattacharya defended Kumar’s role in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, claiming that voters were able to participate without intimidation and that names of deceased and allegedly ineligible voters were removed from the electoral rolls. He said Kumar should be recognised for what he described as a peaceful and unrestricted election process.

The BJP leader also claimed that Kumar had taken steps to remove the names of alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators from voter lists in the border state. He said people in West Bengal had rarely witnessed an election like the latest one and claimed that the public supported Kumar. These statements represent Bhattacharya’s political assessment and are not an independent finding about the electoral process.

Bhattacharya’s remarks came amid a wider political dispute over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have demanded Kumar’s resignation, while allegations have also been raised over decisions concerning voter additions, deletions and restoration. The Election Commission has maintained that decisions taken by the three-member poll panel were unanimous.

The controversy has also reached the Supreme Court, where a petition has sought criminal prosecution of Kumar and an investigation into alleged large-scale deletions from electoral rolls. The allegations remain subject to judicial and institutional scrutiny.