Bengal’s ruling party, whose leaders had moved court demanding these measures, celebrated what it saw as a victory. "We defeated them in the court today, we’ll defeat them in the elections in April," Abhishek said at a Barasat rally. CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the apex court order would "save millions of genuine citizens from getting sacrificed at the altar of the BJP's electoral ambitions in Bengal". The BJP's top leadership went virtually into hiding, with multiple insiders admitting, off the record, that the court order was a "lethal hit" on the party’s Bengal plans. A visibly downcast state unit chief, Samik Bhattacharya, gave an evasive response, saying: "The Supreme Court has said this... (it’s) up to the Election Commission now to ensure a clean, legitimate electoral roll."

Source: The Telegraph January 20, 2026 05:50 UTC