Mamata Banerjee Seeks Gyanesh Kumar’s Removal Over West Bengal Voter Deletions

Mamata Banerjee, the former West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, said on Thursday (October 1) that voter deletions in West Bengal affected constituencies won by her party more heavily. She renewed her accusation of electoral manipulation and demanded Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal.

The former West Bengal chief minister accused the Election Commission of undermining voting rights through its handling of electoral rolls, electronic voting machines and vote counting. She also referred to Kumar as “Vanish Kumar” while stepping up her attack on the poll body.

Banerjee's Accusations Mount

Banerjee sharpened her attack on Kumar directly. Referring to the Chief Election Commissioner as “Vanish Kumar”, she accused the official tasked with protecting citizens’ voting rights of taking those rights away.

“There is currently talk about 'Vanish Kumar', the person who is the present in-charge, the one responsible for safeguarding the public's citizenship and voting rights...He is the ...one who worked to deprive people of their rights. How can we forgive him?” Banerjee said.

She also alleged that the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls, EVMs and vote counting had compromised the electoral process. Her demand for Kumar’s removal came as she repeated charges that the revision process was not politically neutral."

Deletion Figures Cited

Banerjee put the scale of the issue at 92 lakh voters in West Bengal. She claimed the nationwide figure was more than 13 crore.

She further alleged that constituencies won by the TMC had seen higher voter deletions than other seats. Her charge was that the deletions disproportionately affected areas where her party had won.

Election Commission Responds

The Election Commission said on September 30, 2026, that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was meant to remove duplicate or outdated entries while adding genuine voters, BBC reported. Kumar described the purpose as a “pure electoral roll” that excludes no eligible voter and includes no ineligible person.

In West Bengal, more than six million deletions were classified as cases of voters being absent or deceased. Another 2.7 million people flagged for “logical discrepancies” were sent for review by judicial officers under a Supreme Court-directed process.

BBC reported that the Commission’s nationwide count of more than 13 crore names struck from draft rolls across 30 states and Union Territories was a draft-roll figure, not a final tally of confirmed deletions.