Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Kiren Rijiju, and Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar, address the media at the Election Commission of India headquarters, in New Delhi on March 30, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday (March 30, 2026) urged the Election Commission of India (EC) to initiate legal proceedings and prohibit West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from participating in the election campaign for alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in the State.
A delegation comprising Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Kiren Rijiju, and Sukanta Majumdar, BJP national general secretary and MP Arun Singh, BJP national media head and MP Anil Baluni and Om Pathak submitted the complaint at the EC headquarters.
‘Ominous pattern of provocation’
The party, in its complaint, accused Trinamool Congress chairperson Ms. Banerjee of making “grave and disturbing public statements” during multiple public rallies, reflecting “a consistent and alarming and ominous pattern of provocation, voter intimidation, and implicit incitement to violence, thus posing a serious threat to free, fair and peaceful elections”.
It alleged that on March 25, at a rally in north Bengal’s Mainaguri, the Chief Minister reportedly said that after the polls get over, citizens would be compelled to display posters outside their homes declaring “I don’t support BJP”. On the same day, at Naxalbari, she allegedly asked women to “come out with whatever you have at home”.
“On March 26, 2026, at Pandaveswar, she repeated the call to ‘unite and resist’ and exhorted people to come out with ‘whatever is at home’ on polling and counting days, if any force was allegedly applied. Simultaneously, she cast doubts on the credibility of the counting process, thereby undermining public confidence in the Election Commission and the electoral system,” the complaint said.
Alleging that BJP workers were attacked at Basanti in South 24 Parganas district by a “mob of Trinamool Congress goons at the behest and exhortations of Mamata Banerjee”, the party also accused the State police of remaining “passive spectators” during the incident.
The BJP also targeted Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, pointing out that at a press conference in Kolkata she pitched “one linguistic group community against others”.
‘Vitiating the poll process’
“Notably, most past elections — whether Assembly, Lok Sabha, urban local bodies or panchayats — have all been consistently marred by pervasive fear and brute violence perpetrated by the TMC. This has gravely compromised and vitiated the electoral process and, in turn, the popular mandate, striking at the very foundations of free and fair elections,” the BJP said.
The party urged the EC to take immediate cognisance of the statements and incidents mentioned in the complaint and direct initiation of legal proceedings, including the filing of an FIR; debar Ms. Banerjee from participating in the election campaign; ensure enhanced deployment of central forces in sensitive and vulnerable areas; and deploy more Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers as EC observers.
The BJP also requested close monitoring of polling and counting processes to ensure the sanctity and credibility of the electoral process.
Voting in the State will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29 while the results will be out on May 4.
Published – March 30, 2026 06:11 pm IST
