Summary of this article
O'Brien said total votes cast in Phase I of 2026 were lower than in the 2021 elections.
He claimed the 92.70 per cent turnout was inflated by a reduced number of registered voters after SIR.
Amit Shah said the high turnout reflected public backing for BJP-led development politics.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien on Friday said the higher voter turnout in Phase I of the West Bengal elections was the result of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. He argued that the total number of votes cast in 2026 was lower than in the 2021 elections.
In a post on X, seemingly referring to Union Minister Amit Shah, O'Brien shared figures which he said showed only a marginal difference between the total votes cast in Phase I of the 2026 and 2021 polls. He also expressed confidence that the Trinamool Congress would emerge victorious.
O'Brien wrote that claims being made by the BJP could be disproved by official data. According to him, in the 2021 elections, the total number of electors stood at 3.67 crore, voter turnout was 84 per cent, and total votes cast were 3.10 crore.
He then compared these figures with those after the SIR exercise in 2026. He stated that the revised electorate stood at 3.33 crore. For Phase I of the 2026 elections, he said turnout was 92.70 per cent, with a total of 3.09 crore votes cast.
Based on these numbers, O'Brien argued that although the turnout percentage was significantly higher in 2026, the actual number of votes cast had fallen by 83,674 compared with 2021.
He maintained that the increase in turnout percentage was solely due to the reduction in the number of registered electors following the SIR process. He added that this would become clear when results were declared on May 4.
His remarks came after Amit Shah, during a press conference, praised the 92.88 per cent turnout in Phase I of the West Bengal elections. Shah said the high participation showed that voters had chosen development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and were turning away from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Presenting the BJP's projection, Shah claimed the party would win 110 of the 152 seats that went to polling in the first phase.
According to the Election Commission, the 152 constituencies in Phase I had 3.60 crore electors, of whom 92.88 per cent — around 3.34 crore people — cast their votes.
