Rejinagar bypoll controversy escalates as TMC leader is summoned for alleged misinformation

Kolkata, 10 October – A controversy surrounding the Rejinagar assembly by‑poll has intensified after Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee shared a post that the Election Commission says is factually incorrect. The Returning Officer lodged a complaint with the Rejinagar police, urging law‑enforcement to summon the MP for questioning.

The post claimed that the BJP candidate received 909 votes at polling station number 109, a figure that would exceed the total number of registered voters in that booth. In reality, the District Election Officer confirmed that the booth had 1,109 registered voters and that 972 votes were recorded in total for all candidates during the election.

Both the District Election Officer and the District Magistrate promptly issued a statement refuting Banerjee’s numbers. The filing of the FIR marks a formal step by the commission to address the spread of misinformation.

Parallel to the legal proceedings, Banerjee and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are in New Delhi, participating in a demonstration organised by the Cooch Behar Jana Party demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Ganeshi Kumar.

The by‑polls for the Rejinagar and Nandigram constituencies, conducted on 6 October, saw BJP candidates win with sizable margins. The results, declared on 9 October, lifted the party’s seat count in the 294‑member West Bengal Assembly to 209.