Kolkata: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar encountered protests for the third time in two days as demonstrators raised “go back” slogans and waved black flags outside Dakshineswar Kali Temple here on Tuesday morning, amid tensions over voter list deletions in West Bengal.
The protest at Dakshineswar followed similar incidents, with a group protesting outside Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport upon Kumar’s arrival on Sunday night over alleged arbitrary deletions in the post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls. He faced similar protests on Monday morning during his visit to Kalighat Temple in south Kolkata.
Undeterred, Kumar later visited Belur Math in Howrah district, where he addressed reporters on the Election Commission’s commitment to violence-free polls.
“The EC woul
d like to ensure that polls will be violence-free or intimidation-free,” Kumar said.
Kumar is on a two-day visit to West Bengal to review preparations for the upcoming assembly elections. On Monday, he held meetings with political parties and officials, stressing strict monitoring for free and fair polls.
He warned that any lapse in maintaining law and order ahead of elections would not be tolerated. Kumar directed authorities to crack down on illegal weapons, cash, and liquor seizures.
Tensions escalated after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused Kumar of threatening state officials during Monday’s meeting with the administration. Banerjee, objecting to the voter deletions under SIR, said “false bravado” by constitutional authorities was unacceptable.
Official data released on February 28 shows 63.66 lakh names — around 8.3 per cent of the electorate — deleted since SIR began in November last year. This reduced the voter base from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
This apart, over 60.06 lakh electors are under the “under adjudication” category. Their eligibility awaits legal scrutiny in coming weeks, a process that could further alter constituency-level electoral equations.