War of words: ECI assures free elections, TMC expresses displeasure over deletion of voters’ names (ANI photo)

Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday said the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections will be conducted in a “fear-free, violence-free and intimidation-free” manner, issuing a strong message to the ruling party. Trinamool Congress (TMC).In a post on Twitter, the election body said there will be no booth jam or source jam during polling, adding that the elections will be free from inducements and disruptions.Voting for the 294-member assembly is scheduled in two phases on April 23 and April 29 and counting of votes will take place on May 4.The statement came after a meeting between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the TMC delegation of Derek O’Brien, Maneka Guruswamy, Sagarika Ghosh and Saket Gokhale at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi.Reacting strongly to this, TMC accused the Election Commission of working in favor of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is aimed at removing names of voters before the elections.In its official response to the issue, the party claimed that millions of voters had been removed from the rolls, calling it “systematic disenfranchisement” of voters. It was alleged that due to fear of defeat in West Bengal, BJP is using ECI to influence the electoral process.The party also questioned the impartiality of election officials and claimed that out of the 60 lakh voters placed under the decision, about 27 lakh names have already been removed.According to TMC data, after the amendment process the total number of voters in the state has dropped from 7.66 crore to 7.04 crore – a reduction of more than 61 lakh names.The sharp exchange underlines the growing tension between the Election Commission and the ruling party as the state heads towards a high-stakes assembly election.