West Bengal’s firebrand politician Abhishek Banerjee has turned the spotlight on a ticking time bomb in India’s electoral system: undocumented immigrants masquerading as voters. In a pointed letter and public address, the TMC General Secretary has called on the Election Commission to publicly declare the exact figures of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya entries in voter registries.
Banerjee’s outburst comes amid heightened accusations from the TMC that the BJP is inflating infiltration numbers for political mileage. ‘If there are so many infiltrators as claimed, why hasn’t the Election Commission acted? Show us the numbers!’ he demanded, questioning the transparency of the world’s largest democracy.
Delving into specifics, Banerjee referenced data from the Border Security Force (BSF) indicating sporadic apprehensions along the 4,096-km India-Bangladesh border. He alleged that many evade detection and end up enrolled via fraudulent documents, particularly in Muslim-majority areas. This, he claimed, dilutes the votes of native populations.
The demand resonates in states like Assam, where the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise exposed millions of doubtful cases. Banerjee advocated extending similar rigorous checks nationwide, integrating NPR data with electoral rolls for foolproof verification.
Critics from the BJP camp dismissed Banerjee’s plea as a deflection tactic, accusing TMC of patronizing infiltrators in West Bengal for vote banks. Banerjee countered fiercely, challenging them to support an independent ECI probe.
From a governance perspective, cleaning voter lists requires massive logistical efforts—door-to-door verifications, tech upgrades, and inter-agency coordination. Past drives like Bihar’s 2023 revision exposed over 50 lakh fake voters, setting a precedent.
Banerjee’s intervention could catalyze reforms ahead of polls. It highlights vulnerabilities in a system handling 96 crore voters, where even a 1% error translates to millions. Stakeholders await the ECI’s stance, which could redefine trust in elections.
Ultimately, Banerjee positions this as a fight for ‘Bengal’s dignity and India’s sovereignty.’ Whether it leads to accountability or more acrimony, one thing’s clear: voter purity is now a frontline battleground in Indian politics.