Amid escalating concerns over voter list manipulations, Suvendu Adhikari, West Bengal’s fiery opposition leader, applauded the Election Commission’s suspension of seven AEROs on Monday. The action, taken during the critical SIR exercise, drew sharp praise from Adhikari, who used his airport send-off to blast Mamata Banerjee’s administration for alleged complicity.
Breaking from past patterns, the EC directly suspended the officers after they validated bogus documents like school certificates and PAN cards, breaching 13 key guidelines. Adhikari didn’t mince words: ‘Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravarty coerced them under Banerjee’s directives, running a full-fledged racket to rig the rolls.’
He spotlighted the state’s defiance of EC mandates on Form 7 resolutions and its anomalous system of routing poll files through the CMO – a meddling tactic absent in other states. ‘The Prime Minister respects EC autonomy during general elections; Banerjee doesn’t,’ Adhikari quipped.
This ‘first-of-its-kind’ EC clampdown, per Adhikari, promises to restore order. As Bengal braces for voter purges and additions, the move intensifies scrutiny on TMC’s electoral strategies. Analysts see it as a litmus test for federal poll oversight, with Adhikari positioning BJP as guardians of clean elections.
The fallout may prompt broader reforms, deterring future irregularities and bolstering public trust in the world’s largest democracy.