Election Commission Rift Brings Bengal’s TMC and CPM Together Against a Common Concern

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the CPI(M), long-standing political rivals in West Bengal, have opened communication channels amid Opposition concerns over differences within the Election Commission (EC) regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The two parties are founding members of the INDIA bloc but had largely maintained separate political positions in West Bengal. Sources said TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby spoke over the phone on Friday and discussed the need for Opposition parties to come together over concerns surrounding the EC, the electoral process and democratic institutions.

Banerjee also spoke to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and urged him to convene an INDIA bloc meeting at the earliest, preferably on Monday or Tuesday next week, the sources said.

The conversation between Banerjee and Baby followed a letter sent by the CPI(M) leader to her and other INDIA bloc and non-BJP leaders two days earlier. Baby had called for a joint meeting to discuss developments concerning the poll panel.

Banerjee responded to the letter on Thursday, agreeing that the situation surrounding the EC was “truly extraordinary”. Baby’s September 23 letter referred to an investigation published by The Indian Express into differences within the poll panel over SIR-related decisions.

Baby urged Opposition parties to meet with urgency and discuss a joint response. He said the Opposition had a responsibility to defend democratic values, secularism and the right to vote.

Sources said Baby also contacted parties outside the INDIA bloc, including the BRS, AAP, DMK, TVK, BJD and the Cockroach Janta Party, seeking their participation in discussions.

Opposition parties discuss joint response

The latest outreach comes after the Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period to SIR-related decisions that they said had been taken without their knowledge and amid procedural gaps.

The EC, in a response issued on September 23, acknowledged the written notes submitted by the two commissioners and described them as part of the panel’s decision-making process. The poll body, however, did not address the individual concerns raised in the notes or explain how they were dealt with.

Opposition parties have since demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an independent inquiry into the functioning of the EC under Supreme Court supervision, and a halt to the SIR exercise. The parties also decided on Thursday to submit a fresh notice in Parliament seeking Kumar’s removal.

The outreach between the TMC and CPI(M) comes against the backdrop of their long-running political rivalry in West Bengal. It also comes at a difficult time for the TMC, which has faced organisational and electoral setbacks, including developments involving its legislative and parliamentary wings and the Election Commission’s decision earlier this month concerning the party’s name and election symbol.