Congress leader accuses Election Commission of rigging West Bengal vote
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh charged the Election Commission with mass manipulation and rigging in the West Bengal assembly election, demanding accountability from its chief and other officials.
In a sharp statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the Election Commission of India of orchestrating mass manipulation and rigging during the recent West Bengal assembly election. He demanded that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two other commissioners step down, and he also singled out Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for responsibility. Ramesh's remarks came after a media report revealed that judges from more than a dozen tribunals, appointed by the Supreme Court to hear appeals on the Special Intensive Revision process, flagged serious gaps in a digital portal managed by the EC's IT division, which dealt with 27 lakh deleted voters.
He likened the parliamentary complex to an unprecedented security siege, suggesting extreme nervousness among the leadership. The allegations intensify the ongoing political clash over the credibility of the election process in West Bengal.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage emphasizes statistical details of voter-roll deletions and high turnout, noting that the deletions did not prevent TMC victories, while centrist coverage centers on a Congress leader’s accusation that the Election Commission rigged the vote and calls for officials to resign.
LEFT
Frames the story around the scale of voter-roll deletions, the fact that TMC still won the most affected seats, and record turnout, suggesting the deletions had limited impact.
CENTER
Frames the story as a political charge of election rigging by a Congress leader, highlighting demands for the Election Commission’s top officials to step down and alleged technical gaps.
The left emphasises
- voter-roll deletions in five key West Bengal seats
- TMC captured all five seats despite deletions
- historic turnout of 93.71%
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