Pictures by Bibhash Lodh/BS News Agency.
Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Akhilesh takes a jibe after meeting Mamata and Abhishek. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday challenged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to release the CCTV footage of the West Bengal Assembly elections. He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resorts to one lie to cover up another. Citing the 2022 Rampur by-election, Akhilesh alleged that voters there were prevented from leaving their homes to cast their votes. Akhilesh Yadav in Kolkata.
Speaking in Kolkata after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool's All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Akhilesh remarked, "The BJP's lies are like *Sonpapdi* [a flaky Indian sweet]. They pile layer upon layer of lies, one atop another. All the video footage is, after all, stored in the archives. During the Rampur election, they did not allow a single voter to step out. Is the Election Commission blind?" Questioning the role of the Election Commission, he demanded transparency in the electoral process.
Akhilesh stated, "BJP members are terrified of CCTV cameras. If the Election Commission is truly impartial, let them show the public the CCTV footage of the voting in Kundarki. If Supreme Court hearings can be broadcast live, why can't the CCTV footage of the voting and vote counting in Bengal be shown?"
Akhilesh on Mamata
Alleging that voters were obstructed from casting their ballots, Akhilesh claimed that the democratic process was undermined during the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections. He said, "The manner in which they insulted democracy and 'Didi' (Mamata Banerjee) resulted in her voters being denied the opportunity to cast their votes. The Central Forces bear the responsibility for this." He further added, "Is this how you intend to conduct elections—by refusing to allow political parties' agents to even sit inside the booths, and then using the 'SIR' [Summary Revision] process to prepare a list of voters whose names are to be struck off from specific booths? The names of loyal voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in booths where the Trinamool holds a strong foothold. Who granted them this authority? This constitutes the gravest assault on democracy. Therefore, I appeal to all political parties: on this issue, at the very least, we must stand united." Akhilesh remarked sarcastically, "We made two mistakes: first, we defeated the BJP; and second, we defeated them in Ayodhya as well. It is only natural that we would be targeted—and indeed, many people do target us." Alleging electoral malpractice in the West Bengal Assembly elections, Akhilesh stated, "I hope that, following this, the people of the country will wake up. Look at what happened in Bengal... Can you imagine that over 300,000 personnel from the central forces were deployed in Bengal, and officers were hand-picked for specific postings? I have even heard that officers were enticed with incentives—promised handsome sums of money if they helped secure a victory in the elections. And mark my words: the senior officers currently overseeing the elections here will eventually be rewarded with high-ranking positions."
**Akhilesh Explains Why the BJP Dislikes Mamata**
Speaking on the subject of Mamata Banerjee's leadership, he launched a scathing attack on the BJP. He alleged that the BJP harbors a "patriarchal and feudal mindset" that is averse to the rise of women in politics. The SP chief asserted, "They dislike 'Didi' (Mamata Banerjee) because Didi loves to fight. She is being targeted precisely because she represents half of the population. The people within the BJP—with their patriarchal and feudal outlook—simply cannot bear to see a woman rise to prominence. In Rajasthan, they refused to allow a woman to become Chief Minister. The only instance where they did appoint a woman as Chief Minister was in a situation where she was completely devoid of any real power."
He further added, "We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Didi in this struggle, for we must safeguard our democracy and our Constitution. If they strip us of our very right to vote, what remains of democracy? No other entity has inflicted as much damage upon democracy as the BJP has. Driven by a lust for power, the BJP is willing to stoop to any level. They are prepared to flout any law. We have witnessed firsthand—from very close quarters—exactly what they have done in Uttar Pradesh. And they have done the very same thing here."
This meeting in Kolkata took place amidst the atmosphere of post-poll violence that has gripped West Bengal following the recently concluded elections. In the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the BJP secured 207 seats, while the TMC—which had held power for the preceding 15 years—won 80 seats.