West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for protests on International Women’s Day against recent LPG price hikes and deletions from electoral rolls during her ongoing sit-in in Kolkata. She accused the BJP and Election Commission of targeting Bengali-speaking voters ahead of assembly elections. Banerjee also announced early crediting of funds under a youth employment scheme.
On March 7, 2026, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed supporters at her sit-in protest in Kolkata's Esplanade area, continuing from the previous day. The demonstration opposes the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which she claims has arbitrarily deleted names, including many women whose surnames changed after marriage.
Banerjee alleged that the deletions, totaling 63.66 lakh names since November 2025, aim to divide Bengal and deprive Bengali-speaking people of voting rights ahead of assembly elections. Official data shows the electorate reduced from 7.66 crore to 7.04 crore, with over 60.06 lakh under adjudication. She accused the BJP and Election Commission of conspiring to manipulate the voter list, stating, “Their intent is to divide Bengal. The BJP is planning to take away votes by dividing Bengal. They are subjecting Bengali-speaking people to harassment in other states and are conspiring to deprive Bengalis of their voting rights.”
She highlighted issues with LPG cylinders, noting a ₹60 price hike the previous day and ₹59 three days prior, plus a 21-day advance booking requirement. For International Women’s Day on March 8, Banerjee urged women to organize rallies with utensils in protest and asked supporters to wear black, while she would wear white.
Banerjee paraded individuals whose names were removed or wrongly marked as dead, vowing to present them to the media and Election Commission. She targeted the central BJP government, warning, “If you try to remove genuine voters from the electoral rolls...we will overthrow your government in Delhi.” She also commented on the resignation of Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, claiming he was threatened, and criticized incoming Governor R.N. Ravi as a “BJP’s parrot.”
In a related announcement, Banerjee stated that entitlements under the Banglar Yuva Sathi scheme, providing ₹1,500 monthly to unemployed youth aged 21-40 who passed Madhyamik, would be credited on March 7 instead of April. Over 80 lakh youths have applied.
