Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose Supports Electoral Roll Clean-Up Ahead of Assembly Elections

New Delhi:

A "clean up" of electoral rolls is essential before an Assembly election approaching in less than six months, Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose stated in an exclusive interview with NDTV on Wednesday.

The Governor revealed to NDTV that he had visited border regions in the state, which shares a 2,200-km-long border with Bangladesh, and noted that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) – the controversial Election Commission-mandated voter re-verification process – had triggered a 'reverse migration'; illegal immigrants were reportedly hurrying back before being identified and deported.

These comments followed the EC's publication of a draft list the previous day, from which 58 lakh entries had been eliminated. According to the EC, this includes 24 lakh voters marked as 'dead' and 12 lakh classified as 'missing'.

The list's publication concluded the first phase of the SIR in the state.

Bengal's governing Trinamool and other opposition parties in the state, including the Congress and the Left, have strongly criticized the Election Commission-mandated exercise, claiming it aims to remove voters from minority or marginalized communities.

At a rally in Krishnanagar this month, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee encouraged people to demonstrate if their names were removed. "Mothers and sisters, if your names are struck off, you have the tools, right... you have strength, right? You won't let it pass if your names are cut, right?"

The BJP, which the Congress and other opposition parties have accused of collaborating with the Election Commission to manipulate election results, has alleged that the Trinamool is attempting to protect a vote bank that includes illegal immigrants. The Chief Minister, the BJP declared, is upset because she "fears losing power since fake and illegal voters are being removed".

A similar voter re-verification exercise completed in Bihar in September ahead of the November election resulted in around 57 lakh names being removed. The BJP and its ally, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, subsequently achieved a decisive victory in the eastern state.

Governor Bose also discussed other topics with NDTV, including football star Lionel Messi's controversy-filled visit to Kolkata. The World Cup-winning Argentine's brief appearance at the city's Salt Lake Stadium sparked riots.

The Bengal government has faced criticism for mishandling the event.

"There should be a judicial inquiry, headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or High Court to investigate the chaos... resignation of the Sports Minister is not enough."

"There were two ministers in the stadium when the chaos happened," Bose said, "I have written to the Chief Minister to take stringent action against more ministers in the Government and bureaucrats responsible for the administrative failure during Messi's Kolkata visit."

Bose also mentioned his village-level campaign against corruption and violence, stating, "I have also started a campaign for a violence-free and corruption-free West Bengal."