Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters clash outside the Election Commission of India office in Kolkata on March 31, 2026. Photo credit: ANI
Violence broke out outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Kolkata on Tuesday (March 31, 2026), leading to clashes between Trinamool Congress and BJP workers over allegations that Form 6, used to apply for fresh inclusion of names in the electoral roll, is being submitted in large numbers in West Bengal.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on the issue. “BJP agents were caught flooding the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal with thousands of fraudulent Form 6 applications to smuggle non-residents and outsiders into the electoral rolls of Bengal. This is an attempt to kidnap voters,” Ms Banerjee alleged, urging the Election Commission to unconstitutionally punish such actions in nature.
Reacting to the allegations, CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal said, “This is not my job. I can’t keep checking who brings what to my office. Should I hold elections across the state or continue with this?”
Bulk submissions
The Booth Level Officers Organization (BLO) backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress claimed to have caught a BJP worker transferring over 400 Form 6 applications to the Director General of the WB office in Kolkata. BLOs and TMC workers staged a protest outside the CEO’s office and raised the issue. BJP workers also reached the spot and joined hands with TMC workers, leading to a heated exchange.
The TMC protesters alleged that the BJP was trying to woo voters outside Bengal to sway the polls in its favour. Central forces and local police were deployed at the spot to bring the tense situation under control. Baton-wielding police charged the protesters in an attempt to quell excitement among party workers.
This comes a day after TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sent a formal complaint to the WB director general on Monday evening, alleging that the ECI was changing the demographics of Bengal by including voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the state electoral rolls. He alleged that the BJP had submitted at least 30,000 Form 6 applications en masse.
“Attack against Election Officers”
BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar disclaimed responsibility, saying the complaints were a matter for the Election Commission. “I have no information whether the BJP has made any such (Form 6) submissions,” Mr Majumdar said.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari lodged a formal complaint against Ms Banerjee for provoking voters against the central forces. “He is asking the women of the house to fight against the central forces. This is a direct attack against the officers involved in the election work,” alleged Mr. Adhikari.
Courts of Appeal open
Meanwhile, the EC has started accepting online applications from voters who were struck off the final voter list but want to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
The Director-General’s Office confirmed last week that of the 60 million voters who were subject to court rulings during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls, at least 13 million names had been deleted from the 32 million cases that had been struck out. These people can apply to the tribunal to have their cases heard again. Although several supplementary lists have been published, the complete supplementary list for 60 thousand voters has not yet been published.
Published – 31 March 2026 21:43 IST
