The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, addresses a press conference after meeting Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata on May 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) demanding that the district administration and civic volunteers be kept away from the electoral process. Mr. Adhikari and a delegation of around 20 BJP MLAs visited the CEO’s office on Monday (May 26, 2025).

Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled in 2026, and the visit to the CEO’s office carries a great deal of political significance.

Mr. Adhikari said that “fair elections” are a prerequisite for democracy in West Bengal and urged the CEO to change the existing Standard Operating Procedure relating to elections.

Referring to a Calcutta High Court report on the recent violence at Murshidabad, in which the committee said that police did not respond to calls, the LOP said that the same is true for elections during which the police do not take calls. Mr. Adhikari said the entire police set up of the state should be transferred during elections.

He also highlighted the suspension of Arun Gorain, assistant system manager of the Kakdwip subdivision in the South 24 Parganas district, for alleged gross misconduct by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and said the incident was a big scam.

Influencing officers

“After the malpractice was reported in the media, the State has been trying to hush up the anomaly in preparation of the voter list. It is not a solitary incident, the practice is rampant, with members of the ruling party in West Bengal influencing officers who are entrusted with conducting free and fair elections,” the BJP leader’s memorandum said.

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He also demanded that electoral malpractices should be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) since ECI is a central government agency. Mr. Adhikari also highlighted recent remarks by Trinamool Congress MLA from Kakdwip, Maturam Pakhira, in which he alleged that officials are including names in the voter list for monetary gain.

Earlier in February this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP leadership, with the blessings of the ECI, included fake voters in the electoral rolls. Ms. Banerjee directed her party leaders to conduct door to door surveys of voter lists. The CEO had refuted the allegations. After weeks of frantic activity by the Trinamool leadership, the party has gone slow on door to door surveys of voter lists.

Bypolls to five assembly seats in four states, including Kaliganj in West Bengal, will be held on June 19, the Election Commission announced on May 25. Election to the Kaliganj Assembly seat in West Bengal has been necessitated due to the death of sitting assembly member Nasiruddin Ahamed.