Indian MP Shashi Tharoor said that mass voter roll deletions in West Bengal may have helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the state election.
The allegation suggests that the removal of millions of eligible voters from official lists fundamentally altered the outcome of the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections. If the numbers are accurate, the discrepancy between registered voters and those permitted to vote could represent the difference between victory and defeat for the competing parties.
Tharoor said that approximately 91 lakh names were struck off the voter rolls [1]. He said that roughly 34 lakh individuals filed appeals claiming they were genuine voters, but these appeals remained unresolved during the polling process [2].
According to Tharoor, the figure of 34 lakh pending appeals is close to the BJP's victory margin [2]. He said that the systemic removal of these names created a gap in the electorate that benefited the BJP's standing in the final tally.
"Around 91 lakh names were struck off the lists, with approximately 34 lakh individuals filing appeals claiming they were genuine voters," Tharoor said [1].
He said that the timing and scale of these deletions were critical. Tharoor said that 91 lakh names were struck off voter rolls and 34 lakh appeals remained unresolved during polling, a number close to the BJP's victory margin [2].
The BJP has not issued a formal response to these specific numerical claims regarding the 2021 rolls. The dispute highlights ongoing tensions regarding electoral integrity, and the administration of voter lists in the region.
“Around 91 lakh names were struck off the lists”
This allegation points to a potential systemic failure in the electoral process of West Bengal. By linking the volume of unresolved voter appeals directly to the victory margin, Tharoor is arguing that the election result was not merely a reflection of voter preference, but a result of administrative exclusion. If proven, such a gap in voter rolls would suggest that the democratic mandate was compromised by technical or intentional deletions.
