West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | Names of people belonging to Matua, minority communities deleted from post-SIR voter rolls: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that names of people belonging to the Matua and minority communities were deleted from the post-SIR voter rolls in the state.

Addressing a rally at Chakdaha in Nadia district, the Chief Minister said that the TMC will stand by those whose names were excluded from the voter rolls, after the Special Intensive Revision process.

According to the latest data by the Election Commission, nearly 91 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in the state.

The poll panel is yet to announce the finally altered voter base for the state after the roll revision process.

As per official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, were deleted since the SIR process began in November last year, reducing the voter base from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore

Accusing the Centre of discrimination, Banerjee alleged that names were being removed from voter rolls by targeting specific communities.

"Why this discrimination? You are excluding Matuas, Rajbanshis and minorities. Do you think that people do not understand this?" the CM said.

She also claimed that in districts with significant minority population such as Murshidabad, Malda and North Dinajpur, names were "picked and removed like lice" from the electoral rolls.

Banerjee also alleged that after her intervention in the Supreme Court, around 32 lakh names out of nearly 60 lakh cases under 'adjudication' had been restored.

She said, "Names were being removed from official records by targeting specific communities."

Questioning the Centre's stand on infiltration, Banerjee said the Union government has the reponsibility of protecting the country's borders, but it was blaming the West Bengal government for infiltration.

Describing the upcoming assembly polls as a battle to protect people's identity and democratic rights, the TMC supremo urged voters to respond through the ballot.

"This election is a fight to save your democracy, language and respect so that no one can ever call you a foreigner," Banerjee said.

At another poll rally in Bongaon, the CM asserted that the Trinamool Congress will win more seats than before, and form government for the fourth consecutive term.

"The TMC will ultimately win and get more seats than before," she said.

The party had won 215 seats in the 2021 elections for the 294-member West Bengal assembly.

"This election is to avenge the deletion of names from the voter list," Banerjee said.

Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.

(With PTI inputs)