Former Bengal CM calls for united Opposition campaign against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, questions ECI’s handling of voter-roll revision
Kolkata, Sept 2026 : Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was intended to facilitate the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) capture of power in the state.
Addressing a public meeting at Serampore in Hooghly district, Banerjee also stepped up her criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom she referred to as “Vanish Kumar”. She said her campaign, along with that of other Opposition parties, would continue until Kumar stepped down or was removed.
Banerjee’s remarks came amid growing political controversy over the SIR exercise and reports of differences within the three-member Election Commission. The Indian Express has reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on multiple occasions over decisions linked to the revision exercise, including issues concerning voter registration, deletion of names and access to electoral-roll databases.
Referring to the reported differences within the poll panel, Banerjee said she had questioned the roles of CEC Kumar and ECI Director General of Information Technology Seema Khanna since the beginning of the SIR process.
“Just as we caught the tricks of ‘Vanish Kumar’, we will similarly catch the others behind such wrongdoings. ‘Vanish Kumar’ must go. Until he goes, our united movement will continue,” she said.
Banerjee said Opposition parties were coming together at the national level over the issue. She referred to her telephonic conversation with CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby and said political differences should not prevent parties from cooperating when they were faced with what they considered a common issue.
“We will have to fight this issue together,” she said.
The former chief minister also referred to the proposed I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting in New Delhi on September 30, saying Opposition parties would coordinate their response to the Election Commission controversy.
“We will fight unitedly. There is no need to see who is red, blue or yellow. We will all fight shoulder to shoulder to restore democracy,” Banerjee said, according to reports of her speech.
Her latest remarks come amid an escalating political dispute over the SIR process in West Bengal. The Election Commission has faced criticism from Opposition parties over the exercise, while the BJP and its leaders have defended the poll panel’s functioning. Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya recently praised Kumar’s role in the revision exercise and credited the commission with cleaning up the electoral rolls.
Banerjee also questioned the conduct of the West Bengal Police during Saturday’s rally. She alleged that police personnel had detained Trinamool Congress supporters from their homes in Serampore to prevent them from attending the meeting.
“The police are not my enemies. Their job is to protect people. But what are they doing today?” she said, alleging that the arrests were aimed at restricting participation in her programme.
The allegations regarding police action and the political purpose of the SIR remain claims made by Banerjee and were not independently established in the material cited above.
