NRC only way out, says BJP as Congress flags Trinamool's 'control over fake voters' in Bengal

The BJP has accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of going soft on the issue of infiltration. (File photo: PTI)

The Congress party on Sunday claimed that the ruling Trinamool Congress led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wields control over 35 to 40 lakh "fake voters" in the state, virtually launching an attack parallel to what the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed.

"At least 35 to 40 lakh fake voters are in the control of the Trinamool Congress, we all know how easy it is to get enlisted in the voter list," former Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters on Sunday.

The remarks gave fodder to the BJP to demand the rollout of the contentious National register of Citizens in the state with Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari seeking the support of all political parties to this effect.

"All political parties should support NRC. Once BJP comes to power in the 2026 Assembly polls, we will implement NRC in Bengal," he said, adding that the BJP-ruled states are in favour of implementation of the NRC and alleged that the refusal of the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal shows their lack of concern to check infiltration.

"States like Uttarakhand and Gujarat are implementing it, Maharashtra has started. NRC is going on in NDA ruled states," the BJP leader said in Kolkata, claiming that the implementation of NRC is the only way to weed out "infiltrators".

"Bengal is a bordering state. Next to us are Bangladesh-Nepal-Bhutan. We need to identify who is an Indian citizen and who is not by NRC. There are illegal voters in this state, there are Rohingyas. The Election Commission has no role here," the BJP leader said.

The remarks triggered a strong reaction from the TMC which warned the BJP not to act against society. "Our party’s work under the leadership of our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is to provide 'Roti, kapra aur makan' that we do. And BJP as they cannot compete with us and they are enemies of Bengal so they are trying to create division amongst religion. People have rejected this," Ghosh said.

Notably, Mamata had recently flagged the issue of BJP allegedly "manipulating voter lists", something that AAP had alleged in the Delhi elections, for electoral gains in the state. Assembly elections are due in West Bengal in 2026.