Election Commission data reveals Bhabanipur constituency in West Bengal recorded significantly higher voter deletions compared to Nandigram, sparking political debate ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
A new study alleges that Muslim voters are disproportionately represented in Logical Discrepancy (LD) lists during Kolkata's voter roll revision, raising concerns about potential bias in the electoral process.
According to Election Commission data, Bhabanipur had 2,06,295 voters as of January 2025. The draft rolls now carry 1,61,509 names, indicating that 44,787 voters, nearly 21.7 per cent of the electorate, have been deleted.
The Election Commission released the names of deleted voters in West Bengal ahead of the publication of the draft electoral rolls for the upcoming assembly elections.
The Election Commission is set to publish the draft electoral rolls for West Bengal on Tuesday following the completion of the statewide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The publication of the draft rolls will mark the end of the enumeration phase and the beginning of a far more contentious stage - claims, objections and hearings that will stretch into February 2026.
The drama unfolded after Majumdar, a Union minister of state, defied police restrictions and rode a motorbike to Bhabanipur to observe 'Paschimbanga Dibas' (West Bengal Day).
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
Banerjee, who lost the election in Nandigram, has to win this bypoll to retain the chief minister's post.
Long before the by-election was announced, a person with the name Prashant Kishor was included in the list of the electorate in Bhabanipur during the addition process in January-April, according to the Election Commission website.
TMC's campaign in the seat in south Kolkata is already underway with the Election Commission announcing the by-poll on Saturday, following a request from the state government to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Bypoll to the Bhabanipur assembly seat in West Bengal, from where chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee plans to contest, would be held on September 30, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.
"I am 'Man of the Match' of this game because I contested the election in Mamata Banerjee's stronghold and got more than 25,000 votes. I will continue doing the hard work," Tibrewal said.
Having emerged as the face of opposition resistance to the Narendra Modi juggernaut after the TMC's triumph in the assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is locked in an unequal battle as she squares off with "lightweight" rivals in her own lair--Bhabanipur.
The BJP delegation also demanded that the CEO Aarif Aftab disallow Kolkata Police from having direct control to maintain law and order in the constituency on the polling day to ensure free and fair poll.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar claimed that they were prevented from campaigning on Harish Chatterjee Street that leads to the residence of Banerjee, who is also a candidate in the bypoll.
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition on the by-election to the Bhabanipur assembly seat, ordering that polls will be held as scheduled on September 30.
Naturally, the West Bengal chief minister is not leaving anything to chance, reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
Banerjee, who lost from the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections earlier this year, has to win this by-poll to retain the chief minister's post.
Banerjee scored a personal point with a massive victory in the bypoll with a record margin of 58,835 votes.
West Bengal minister and veteran Trinamool Congress leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay is all set to vacate the Bhabanipur assembly seat on Friday as party supremo Mamata Banerjee is likely to contest bypoll from the constituency, party sources said.
A civic volunteer, identified as Chandan Das (31), died on the spot when he allegedly touched a live wire in Bud Bud in Purba Bardhaman district. The incident happened when he was out with a police team, they said.
During the investigation, it was found that he had a history of physically abusing his wives, he said.
"Since the elections started in West Bengal, central government hatched conspiracies to remove us (from power). I was hurt in my feet so that I don't contest the polls," she said.
In a letter, the EC said the state government must ensure that adequate steps are taken so that no post-poll violence happens.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist said that it will field a candidate as those opposed to the TMC and BJP needed an alternative.
A team of CBI officers reached his residence in south Kolkata's Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces in the morning, officials said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is Trinamool Congress's Bhabanipur bypoll candidate, of violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by participating in a programme where the West Bengal government announced a grant of Rs 50,000 to each Durga puja organising committee ahead of the state's biggest festival.
The Trinamool Congress supremo said at an election meeting at Bhabanipur where she is contesting by-polls to be held on September 30, that she had been invited to Rome in the first week of October to attend a global peace meeting in which the Pope, other religious heads, dignitaries from various countries are slated to attend, where she would have been the only Indian and 'only Hindu lady'.
BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh was allegedly manhandled while party MP Arjun Singh faced 'go back' slogans by ruling TMC workers while campaigning for party candidate Priyanka Tibrewal, who is pitted against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur assembly constituency in the city on the last day of campaigning on Monday.
The party also announced the names of Milan Ghosh and Sujit Das for Samserganj and Jangipur seats respectively.
The TMC supremo, who started her poll campaign for the Bhabanipur by-election, also alleged that the saffron party is targeting party general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee for political reasons, claiming there is no valid case against him.
In a break from tradition, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was on Thursday administered the oath as a member of the state assembly by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has referred petitions submitted by the Trinamool Congress and the YSR Congress under the anti-defection law against their respective leaders Sisir Adhikari and K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju to the privileges committee.
The counting of votes will take place on November 2.
Petrol prices in the country are not coming down as the states do not want to bring fuel under the ambit of the GST, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said. In an interview to PTI in Kolkata, Puri said petrol prices crossed the Rs 100-mark in West Bengal as the TMC government is levying heavy taxes. "If your question is do you want the petrol prices to come down then the answer is yes.
The drive met with opposition in Tinsukia in upper Assam leading to lathicharge by the security forces, while in Sonitpur the alleged illegal settlers claimed that it was launched about a week before the stipulated date.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are among the star campaigners of the party for the October 30 bypolls to four Assembly seats in the state, but interestingly, the names of actor-turned-MP Nusrat Jahan and former BJP leader Babul Supriyo, who recently joined the TMC camp do not feature in the list.
As the countdown begins for the Durga Puja festival, a section of Trinamool Congress supporters have put up a hoarding in Kolkata bearing various photographs of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee with a caption in Bengali -- 'Modishahsurmardini', punning with 'Mahisasuramardini' (demon slayer).
Adequate security and Covid safety measures have been put in place for the electoral exercise.
The 66-year-old leader's income for the year 2019-20 was Rs 10,34,370.
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