13 Lakh Fake Voters? BJP Submits "Hard Evidence" of Bengal Electoral Fraud

West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, has formally requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to deploy Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) instead of state police for the 2026 Assembly elections. In a detailed letter submitted on November 25, 2025, Adhikari alleged systematic "electoral fraud" by the ruling TMC during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. He claims to have submitted evidence of 13.25 lakh fake or dubious voter entries across five key constituencies, accusing state officials of complicity in inflating the lists with "infiltrators."

The Context (How We Got Here)

The request comes amidst a fierce political battle over the SIR process, which began on November 4. The ECI has already suspended four state officials for unauthorized database access, validating some concerns about data security. Adhikari’s move follows Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s letter to the EC on November 20, where she demanded a halt to the SIR, citing the deaths of overworked Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and accusing the Centre of using the revision to disenfranchise legitimate voters. The clash has transformed a routine administrative exercise into a high-stakes proxy war for the 2026 elections.

The Key Players (Who & So What)

Suvendu Adhikari (Leader of Opposition): The accuser. By demanding CAPF deployment a year before elections, he is attempting to delegitimize the state police machinery early, framing them as TMC cadres rather than neutral enforcers.
Mamata Banerjee (Chief Minister): The defender. She frames the SIR not as a cleanup but as a "coercive" tool to delete poor and minority voters, using the tragic deaths of BLOs to rally public sentiment against the EC's "inhuman" timeline.
Gyanesh Kumar (Chief Election Commissioner): The arbiter. Caught between allegations of "fake voters" from the BJP and "voter suppression" from the TMC, his decision on deploying central forces and using AI verification will determine the credibility of the upcoming polls.

The BIGSTORY Reframe

While the headlines focus on the political slugfest, the deeper story is the "Technological Arms Race." Adhikari’s demand for AI-based facial recognition to weed out duplicate voters highlights a critical pivot: political parties are now battling over algorithms as much as ideologies. The BJP is pushing for tech-enabled verification to bypass what it sees as compromised local bureaucracy. However, this solution carries its own risks—as seen in Telangana in 2018, where similar software erroneously deleted millions of legitimate voters. The fight for Bengal is now a fight over the code that defines citizenship.

The Implications (Why This Changes Things)

If the ECI accepts Adhikari’s request for CAPF deployment during the revision phase (not just the election), it would set an unprecedented standard for federal intervention in state administration. It would signal a complete loss of faith in the West Bengal state machinery. Conversely, if the EC ignores the "13 lakh fake voters" claim, any future election result will be contested from day one. The introduction of AI verification could either clean the rolls or create a new crisis of mass deletion, turning the voter list into the most contested document in Indian democracy.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If a democracy needs paramilitary forces just to count its own voters, who exactly is the enemy?

FAQs

Why is Suvendu Adhikari asking for CAPF instead of West Bengal Police? Adhikari alleges that the West Bengal Police are acting as "cadres" of the ruling TMC, aiding in the inclusion of fake voters and intimidating election officials. He argues that only Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) can ensure a neutral environment for the voter revision process.

How many fake voters did Suvendu Adhikari find? Adhikari claims to have submitted evidence of approximately 13.25 lakh (1.3 million) dubious or fake voter entries across just five Lok Sabha constituencies.

What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)? The SIR is a comprehensive update of the electoral rolls aimed at removing duplicate, deceased, or ineligible voters. In West Bengal, it has become controversial due to the compressed timeline and allegations of manipulation from both the BJP and TMC.

Will AI be used to fix the voter list? The BJP has demanded the use of AI-based facial recognition to de-duplicate the rolls. The Election Commission is reportedly considering this, but experts warn of potential errors, citing past instances where legitimate voters were deleted by similar software.

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Brajesh Mishra Associate Editor

Brajesh Mishra is an Associate Editor at BIGSTORY NETWORK, specializing in daily news from India with a keen focus on AI, technology, and the automobile sector. He brings sharp editorial judgment and a passion for delivering accurate, engaging, and timely stories to a diverse audience.