‘How can Bengal election be fair when so many genuine voters are left out?’, says Shashi Panja

Shashi Panja questions the fairness of Bengal elections, highlighting voter disenfranchisement and political violence amid rising tensions.

Close to a month after her residence was vandalised allegedly by BJP workers, West Bengal Minister or Women and Child Development, and Industries and Commerce and senior Trinamool Congress leader Shashi Panja speaks on crucial electoral issues shaping the upcoming Assembly election. Edited excerpts:  

This house came under attack on March 14. Did you ever think you would personally become a victim of political violence? 

We knew that the BJP is a violent party, it’s politics is very shallow. But this was a new low. It was total hooliganism and they are proud about what they did. It is shocking and humiliating because I was in my own house, my political office, and I was putting up political banners. I was clearly overpowered. What surprises me most is the cowardice. You have a lady in front of you; you can’t come running with a brick and thump it in her stomach. They did it on a day when the Prime Minister was in the city.  

You’re a senior leader in the party and three-time MLA and minister as well. What do you think of the 2026 election and upcoming elections? And how do you think it is different from the 2021 election? 

If the BJP, which says ‘hum log aarahe hain (we will come to power)’, is so confident of winning this election, then why did you actually have to do an SIR (Special Intensive Revision)? You do a routine intensive revision like you did in Assam. Why did you have to go so deep to disenfranchise so many people? That means what you say and what you believe is so different. If you’re so confident of winning, you don’t have to adopt these measures, which is again taking away rights of the people. They put me; a three-time elected MLA, under adjudication [after SIR citing logical discrepancies] with what intent? I am a registered voter. Otherwise, why would I be elected or even stand for elections? If they could logically adjudicate me, just what have they done to others? 

We can shout and scream, or we can go to court, but it takes time. Didi [Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee] went to court over SIR. People are getting harassed. But still you’re trying to cover up with a larger narrative to say, ‘Muslims hain, ghuspetiya hain’ (They are Muslims and infiltrators). You see, they [BJP-led Centre] have driven a different kind of narrative before. It was a divide between two languages, the Hindi heartland and a Bengali land. But this time it is different because we are going into an election with reduced voter strength. It is unconstitutional. Many do not know what their future is, if they will get to vote or not. Those who have been adjudicated and deleted are not even aware that they have got deleted.