Sunny Khurma
Cheif Editor
Kolkata, October 1, 2026: Trinamool Congress chief and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has intensified her attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his arrest and calling for fresh Assembly elections in West Bengal amid the continuing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Banerjee made the demand while addressing supporters through a Facebook Live interaction on September 23, alleging serious irregularities in the electoral-roll revision process and in the West Bengal Assembly election. She demanded that the state go to the polls again using the electoral roll that existed before the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
Banerjee alleged that changes made during the SIR process affected genuine voters and questioned the fairness of the election conducted after the revised rolls were prepared.
She called for criminal action against Gyanesh Kumar and said protests would continue as long as he remained Chief Election Commissioner.
The allegations have not been established by a court, and no judicial or statutory authority has ordered either the arrest of the Chief Election Commissioner or fresh elections in West Bengal.
The controversy intensified following claims that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections during internal discussions on several decisions connected with electoral-roll revisions.
The Election Commission has rejected suggestions that the SIR decisions were improperly taken. It has maintained that its decisions were lawful and said differing views during internal deliberations are part of institutional decision-making.
The Commission has also maintained that names are removed from electoral rolls only under legally recognised circumstances, including cases where a voter has died, shifted residence, appears more than once on the rolls or cannot be traced after verification.
Voters whose names do not appear on draft rolls have mechanisms to seek inclusion and can appeal decisions relating to their registration.
West Bengal underwent the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, with the final SIR roll published in February. The state’s official electoral portal continues to provide final and supplementary rolls, deletion lists and procedures relating to claims and objections.
Banerjee and other opposition leaders have argued that large-scale deletions during voter verification require greater scrutiny. The Election Commission has disputed accusations of politically motivated manipulation and has defended the legal basis of the exercise.
The wider SIR process has become a major national political issue, with opposition parties questioning voter-list deletions across several states. The Election Commission has subsequently announced procedural changes, including additional home visits for collection of verification documents and extended deadlines in some areas.
West Bengal is currently governed by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who took office after the 2026 Assembly election. The state government's official website lists Adhikari as Chief Minister.
Banerjee’s demand for a fresh election therefore directly challenges the legitimacy of the 2026 Assembly result. However, any decision to overturn an election or order fresh polling would have to follow the applicable constitutional and legal process.
The dispute is expected to remain a major political issue as opposition parties continue to press for greater scrutiny of the SIR exercise and the Election Commission continues to defend the voter-verification process.
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