Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi has questioned the legal validity of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, calling for a detailed examination of constituencies where large numbers of Muslim voters were allegedly deleted from electoral rolls. He has also suggested holding re-polls wherever irregularities are established.
Speaking at the Hashim Abdul Halim Memorial Lecture in Kolkata on Thursday, November 5, Quraishi reportedly said that the legality of the elections was questionable and that the matter was now before the Supreme Court.
“Were the West Bengal elections legally valid? In my opinion, it was not,” Quraishi was quoted as saying. He added that constituencies facing allegations of large-scale voter deletions required closer scrutiny, even if other parts of the election process were valid.
BJP’s Historic Victory in West Bengal
The controversy comes months after the BJP registered a historic victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress’s 15-year rule.
The BJP won 208 of the 294 Assembly seats, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, secured 80 seats. The Congress won two seats, while other parties secured the remaining four.
The victory brought the BJP to power in West Bengal for the first time, with Suvendu Adhikari becoming Chief Minister.
Quraishi Questions Election Commission’s Functioning
Quraishi also raised concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI). He argued that the Chief Election Commissioner cannot independently take decisions without involving the other two Election Commissioners.
“The CEC is not the Election Commission,” he said, emphasising that decisions should ideally be unanimous or taken through a majority among the three commissioners.
He also referred to reported objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over certain decisions allegedly taken without their knowledge.
SIR Process Under Scanner
Quraishi further criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise had effectively turned into an indirect citizenship verification process.
He questioned its transparency and implementation, adding that several concerns were currently being examined by the Supreme Court.
BJP Minister Rejects Allegations
Meanwhile, West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh rejected Quraishi’s allegations, defending the election outcome as the people’s mandate.
He said the BJP government had been in power for six to seven months and claimed that people were satisfied with its performance. He suggested that some individuals were questioning the election because the results did not match their expectations.