West Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari demands action against CM Mamata Banerjee for ‘threatening Chief Electoral Officer’

West Bengal Assembly Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders took out a protest march to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office in Kolkata on Friday, October 10, 2025, accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of threatening the CEO in her public statements.

“Yesterday, the chief administrative officer of West Bengal, the Chief Minister, during his speech at the State Secretariat… directly attacked the Election Commission and its chief representative in the state, the CEO, in what we might call a below-the-belt manner,” Mr. Adhikari said.

Referring to the Prime Minister’s remarks, he said such language was “dangerous to democracy and threats to the Electoral Commission from an administrative executive.”

On Thursday, October 9, 2025, at a press conference at the State Secretariat, the Chief Minister said that the current CEO of West Bengal has “several allegations” against him and that he will disclose them “in due course”.

“I hope (the CEO) does not play aggressively or overreact. The person against whom there are various allegations of corruption is threatening officials. And there is a conspiracy to cut votes in the name of (Special Intensive Overhaul),” Ms. Banerjee had said.

Mr. Adhikari also demanded that by Monday, October 13, 2025, the Prime Minister should produce evidence of the corruption allegations leveled against the CEO and complaints of allegedly intimidated election officials.

“If he does not submit all this information to the Leader of Opposition by Monday, then I will understand that you are shaken by (Special Intensive Revision) and the possibility of losing your power,” the BJP MLA said.

BJP MPs, including Mr Adhikari, who was seen protesting at the CEO’s office on Friday, also submitted a letter to the CEO addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner of India regarding Ms Banerjee’s remarks.

In the letter, the LoP demanded that “a First Information Report (FIR) be registered against (Chief Minister) for obstructing the conduct of free and fair elections and intimidating public servants serving under the Election Commission of India” and “issuance of necessary instructions to ensure the protection and independence of all officials concerned with the electoral process in West Bengal”.

Responding to Mr Adhikari’s comments, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on Friday accused the BJP of resorting to ‘disappointing policies’ and ‘making 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 or their development. They are going for baseless drama,” Mr. Ghosh said.