Mamata Banerjee Protests West Bengal Voter Deletions

India===West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee initiated a sit-in protest in Kolkata against alleged arbitrary deletions from the post-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls. She accused the India===Bharatiya Janata Party and the India===Election Commission of India of conspiring to disenfranchise Bengali voters ahead of the state assembly elections. The protest, announced by India===Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, highlights a significant political escalation. Official data indicates that approximately 63.66 lakh names, or 8.3% of the electorate, have been removed since the SIR process began, reducing the voter base from 7.66 crore to 7.04 crore. Additionally, over 60.06 lakh electors are under adjudication, with their eligibility to be determined through legal scrutiny. The India===Trinamool Congress alleges that minority voters, migrant workers, and economically weaker sections have been disproportionately affected by these deletions, claiming a target of over one crore voter deletions was set before the exercise began. The protest occurs just two days before a proposed visit by the full bench of the Election Commission to India===West Bengal.