Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders staged a protest march to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata on Friday (October 10, 2025), accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of threatening the CEO in her public remarks.
“Yesterday, West Bengal’s administrative head, the Chief Minister, during her address from the State Secretariat… directly attacked the Election Commission and its chief representative in the State, the CEO, in a manner that can be termed below the belt,” Mr. Adhikari said.
He cited the Chief Minister’s remarks and said that such language is “dangerous for a democracy and are threats made by an administrative head to the Election Commission”.
On Thursday (October 9, 2025), during a press conference at the State Secretariat, the Chief Minister said that the current CEO of West Bengal has ‘several allegations against him’ which she will reveal when ‘the time is right’.
“I hope (the CEO) will not play aggressively or overreact. The one who has several allegations of corruption against him is threatening officers. And there is a conspiracy to cut votes in the name of (Special Intensive Revision),” Ms. Banerjee had said.
Mr. Adhikari also demanded that by Monday (October 13, 2025), the Chief Minister must submit proof of the corruption allegations that she levelled against the CEO, and the complaints of the electoral officers who were allegedly intimidated.
“If she doesn’t provide all this information to the Leader of Opposition by Monday, then I will understand that you have been rattled by (Special Intensive Revision) and by the possibility of losing your power,” the BJP MLA said.
BJP MLAs including Mr. Adhikari who were seen protesting at the premises of the CEO’s office on Friday also also submitted a letter to the CEO, addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner of India, concerning Ms. Banerjee’s remarks.
In the letter, the LoP requested “a First Information Report (FIR) be registered against the (Chief Minister) for obstructing the conduct of free and fair elections and intimidating public servants performing duties under the Election Commission of India,” and for “necessary directions be issued to ensure the protection and independence of all officers associated with the electoral process in West Bengal.”
Responding to Mr. Adhikari’s statements, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on Friday accused the BJP of resorting to ‘disappointing politics’ and of ‘issuing threats before every election’.
“All their tactics have been exposed, hence they are behaving like this. The BJP has no relationship with the people of West Bengal nor with their development. They are going about doing baseless drama,” Mr. Ghosh said.
Published – October 11, 2025 02:51 am IST