Kolkata, Dec 2 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Tuesday alleged that the state government has been making efforts to retain the names of deceased voters in the electoral rolls of the state during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise to “misuse” it later.

In a social media post, Adhikari alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was trying to ensure that the names of dead voters were not deleted so that those votes could be “misused” by her party workers in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls.

The BJP leader also shared an audio clip of a booth-level officer (BLO) from Falta in South 24 Parganas district, where he is heard saying that senior officials were instructing them not to delete the names of deceased persons without death certificates.

The IANS, however, has not verified the contents of the audio clip.

“Due to SIR, Mamata Banerjee is seeing ominous signs. So she is planning to use her administration to prevent the names of dead voters from being deleted, and to use her peace force to stamp out those votes during the election. But that won’t be a piece of cake,” said Adhikari.

Sharing the audio clip, the BJP leader further said, “Listen to the audio below, and everyone see for yourself the handiwork of the administration. This voice clipping is of a BLO from Falta who is clearly complaining that the BDO and ARO of Falta called all the BLOs after 3 p.m. yesterday and instructed that the name of any dead person cannot be deleted without a death certificate. However, the family members have signed the declaration on the enumeration form of the dead persons. That form cannot be uploaded either. The BLOs are being told to keep the forms at bay without uploading them. Why? So that they can be swindled later. This allegation is very serious.”

He further alleged that Trinamool Congress musclemen are going door to door, threatening that no death certificate will be given to the BLOs. “That is, the game is very clear; there is a hidden attempt to keep dead voters in the voter list by using BDOs and AROs, threatening them with goons,” said Adhikari.

He concluded by saying, “I will tell the common people and BLOs not to be afraid. You all should help the Election Commission in the work of SIR within the law. I will tell the BDOs and AROs, who are slaves of the Trinamool, to be careful; otherwise, you will have to suffer the consequences. BJP is keeping an eye on the whole matter, and we will not talk about it.”

He added, “I will request the Election Commission to consider the seriousness of this serious complaint, investigate the matter and take immediate action against the BDOs and AROs.”

–IANS

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