Former West Bengal chief minister and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) chief Mamata Banerjee has reached out to CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders to discuss holding an INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi over the Election Commission of India (ECI) row.
The development comes days after the controversy surrounding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified following reports of differences within the poll panel over decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have since stepped up consultations on a joint response to the issue.
An INDIA bloc meeting is now likely to be held in New Delhi on September 30, according to reports.
Mamata Banerjee agrees to MA Baby's proposal
Veteran TMC leader and MP Saugata Roy said on Saturday that Banerjee had received a letter from Baby proposing that opposition parties join hands against Kumar and hold a meeting.
“I came to know on Thursday from Banerjee that she received a letter from Baby. The letter came at our Parliamentary party office. In the letter he has said that political parties should join hands to fight against Kumar. He has also proposed that a meeting should be held. Banerjee has agreed,” Roy said.
The outreach marks communication between the TMC and CPI(M), which have been longstanding political rivals in West Bengal. According to reports, Baby had written to INDIA bloc and other non-BJP parties urging them to come together over concerns surrounding the Election Commission. Banerjee subsequently agreed to the proposal and also spoke to Rahul Gandhi.
Roy said Banerjee had also contacted Gandhi and other opposition leaders, although at the time no final response had been received fixing a date for the meeting.
TMC prepares for fresh ECI protest push
Banerjee is scheduled to address a public meeting at Sreerampore in Hooghly on Saturday. TMC leaders said she is expected to outline the party's roadmap for protests against the ECI and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the coming days.
Her proposed outreach follows a 17-minute video message released on social media on Wednesday, hours after the controversy over Kumar erupted. Banerjee demanded Kumar's arrest and said INDIA bloc allies would meet soon.
“There should be a fresh mass movement...Protest will continue till he (Kumar) is on the CEC’s chair. The INDIA-bloc members and other regional parties will fight this battle together. I had said that a storm would come. It has already come,” Banerjee said in the video.
Banerjee had also demanded fresh elections in West Bengal using the pre-SIR electoral roll and called for a broader opposition movement over the issue.
Senior TMC leaders said party workers were likely to take to the streets soon to protest against the BJP. TMC MP Mahua Moitra wrote on X: “Beware - the revolution is coming! Everyone is going to hit the streets till we reclaim our democracy from the clutches of this Chor.”
Congress, BJP leaders react to outreach
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said INDIA bloc leaders had met previously and suggested that Banerjee's participation would depend on her own decision.
“It is not that INDIA-bloc leaders are meeting for the first time. They have met earlier too. No one asked Banerjee not to attend the meetings of the bloc. It was she who decided to fight alone in the elections. If good sense prevails upon her, it is fine. The high command will discuss and take a decision,” Chowdhury said.
BJP leader and state minister Dilip Ghosh also commented on Banerjee's outreach to opposition parties.
“Banerjee should go to Delhi. There is nothing left for her in the state now. When they (INDIA-bloc) leaders called her, she didn’t respond. Now she is calling out to them. Let them decide,” Ghosh said.
The proposed meeting comes as opposition parties discuss a coordinated response to the ECI controversy. Reports said the Opposition has also been considering parliamentary action against Kumar, including a fresh notice seeking his removal.