Mamata Banerjee: ECI's SIR was designed to hand Bengal to BJP
Synopsis
Mamata Banerjee used a Sreerampore rally to accuse the Election Commission of India of weaponising the Special Intensive Revision to deliver Bengal to the BJP — and called CEC Gyanesh Kumar 'Vanish Kumar', demanding his removal. With the I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting on 30 September looming, the ECI row is rapidly becoming the opposition's next big national flashpoint.
Key Takeaways
Mamata Banerjee alleged on 26 September 2026 that the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was solely intended to help the BJP capture West Bengal .
She questioned the roles of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and ECI IT Chief Seema Khanna , dubbing Kumar 'Vanish Kumar' and demanding his resignation or removal.
Banerjee cited a telephonic conversation with CPI(M) leader M.A.
Baby as evidence of cross-party convergence on the issue.
She flagged the I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting in New Delhi on 30 September as a national consolidation point against the ECI move.
She alleged West Bengal Police detained Trinamool supporters from their homes in Serampore the night before the rally to suppress attendance.
All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, 26 September 2026, alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was designed with a single objective — to engineer a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) takeover of West Bengal. Banerjee made the allegations while addressing a public meeting at Sreerampore in Hooghly district.
Attack on the Election Commission
Banerjee alleged that the roles played by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Commission's Information Technology Chief Seema Khanna were 'doubtful' from the very start of the SIR exercise — remarks she said she had been making since the process began. Her allegations come amid reported differences within the top leadership of the ECI, a detail she pointedly invoked to buttress her claims.
In a sharp rhetorical move, Banerjee referred to the CEC by the moniker 'Vanish Kumar', demanding that he either step down or be removed from office. '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 declared from the Sreerampore stage.
Opposition Closing Ranks Against the ECI
Banerjee positioned the demand for Kumar's removal not merely as a TMC cause but as a national opposition movement. She disclosed a telephonic conversation with Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader M.A. Baby, stressing that party lines would be set aside when the core issue was common. 'We will have to fight this issue together,' she said.
Banerjee also flagged the forthcoming I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting in New Delhi on 30 September, saying the gathering would consolidate a national-level push on the ECI 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,' she said, signalling a rare cross-ideological alignment that includes TMC alongside left and Congress formations.
Allegations Against West Bengal Police
Banerjee also turned her criticism toward the West Bengal Police, alleging that officers had, on the night before her rally, picked up Trinamool Congress supporters from their homes in Serampore to prevent them from attending. 'The police are not my enemies. Their job is to protect people. But what are they doing today?' she said, characterising the alleged detentions as an effort to suppress her public meeting. The police had not issued a public response to the allegations at the time of reporting.
What This Signals
This is the latest in a series of escalating confrontations between Banerjee's administration and the ECI over the SIR process in West Bengal. Critics of the revision argue that the exercise disproportionately targets certain communities and geographies in the state, while the ECI has maintained it is a standard electoral roll-cleaning drive. The I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting on 30 September is being watched closely for whether the anti-SIR campaign consolidates into a coordinated parliamentary and street-level strategy.
Point of View
CPI(M), and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc against the ECI on a single demand. What is striking is the ideological breadth: TMC and CPI(M) have been bitter rivals in Bengal for decades, yet both are now on the same call on the SIR question. The ECI has not yet offered a detailed public rebuttal to the specific allegations about Kumar and Khanna, a silence that the opposition is likely to exploit. If the 30 September I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting adopts a joint resolution on CEC removal, it hands the opposition a procedural tool — parliamentary motions — that could keep the ECI controversy alive well into the next electoral cycle.
NationPress
26 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that Mamata Banerjee is opposing?
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is an electoral roll exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India to update and clean voter lists. Mamata Banerjee alleges it was designed specifically to benefit the BJP in West Bengal, though the ECI has maintained it is a standard process.
Why is Mamata Banerjee demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal?
Banerjee alleges that CEC Gyanesh Kumar's role in conducting the SIR in West Bengal was politically motivated to aid the BJP. She has been making these claims since the exercise began and escalated her demand publicly at the Sreerampore rally on 26 September 2026, saying her movement would continue until Kumar resigned or was removed.
What is the I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting on 30 September about?
The I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting scheduled in New Delhi on 30 September is expected to consolidate opposition parties' stance on the ECI controversy, including demands related to the SIR process and CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Banerjee indicated that the entire country was coming together on this issue.
Why did Mamata Banerjee criticise the West Bengal Police at the rally?
Banerjee alleged that West Bengal Police detained Trinamool Congress supporters from their homes in Serampore the night before her rally to prevent them from attending. She said the police's job was to protect people, not to suppress political participation. The police had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.
How significant is the TMC-CPI(M) convergence on the ECI issue?
It is notable because the TMC and CPI(M) have been fierce political rivals in West Bengal for decades. Banerjee's reference to a telephonic conversation with CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby on the SIR issue signals an unusual alignment, with Banerjee explicitly saying she would not look at party lines when the issue was common.
