Ahead of 2026 battle, Election Commission asks Bengal govt to make state poll office independent

In what would lead to a fresh tussle between the CM and ECI, the poll body sent a letter to state Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on July 17 underlining that West Bengal is the only state where CEO's office functions under the Home and Hill Affairs Department, The Telegraph reported.

The ECI has directed the Chief Secretary to make a "separate election department" which will be "completely delinked from any other department" of the local government.

The letter further says the election department must have a "dedicated budget head" which will give financial and administrative autonomy to the CEO.

During her Martyrs' Day rally on July 21, Mamata said she won't allow the SIR, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court, in West Bengal, which will go to assembly polls in summer next year.

"You talk about misrule but it is your government who is misruling. I respect the ECI, but over 40 lakh voters’ names were removed in Bihar.

"Now, you plan to do the same in Bengal. If you try that here, we will launch a Gherao movement. We will organise a massive protest. We will not allow you to strike off names and push people into detention camps," the three-time Chief Minister said.

West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who held a counter rally in Siliguri, slammed the Chief Minister for allegedly ordering to unleash violence on BJP workers.

Adhikari said the ECI must take note of the Chief Minister's words and appealed to the poll body to take necessary steps to ensure fair assembly elections in the state, which has never been ruled by the BJP since Independence.

"Mamata Banerjee's words drip with violence; an order to unleash violence on countless BJP workers across West Bengal. Earlier thousands of our Karyakartas have faced attacks, intimidation and worse, yet we have remained steadfast in our fight for truth and justice. Her slogan, "Jabda hobe, stabda hobe" (You will be punished, silenced), is a desperate attempt to cling on to power through fear as the 2026 Elections loom.

"The BJP will not be silenced, will not be intimidated. We will continue to raise our voice against TMC's misrule and work tirelessly for democratically overthrowing the TMC Govt for a prosperous West Bengal," the BJP strongman wrote on X.

"However, the Election Commission of India must take cognisance of this statement made by Mamata Banerjee. This is an indication how 'peaceful' the Assembly Elections are going to be.

"The Election Commission of India should take note and make preparations accordingly so that there is a level playing field for all the participants in the upcoming Elections," the Nandigram MLA, who defeated Mamata from the constituency in 2021, added. 

Adhikari has also asserted that the "Rohingyas" will be removed from the voter list no matter what.