Kolkata braces for anti-Gyanesh Kumar march as Mamata, Left mobilise

• Trinamool plans a Kolkata march demanding chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and arrest.

• Left student organisations hold protests, using street theatre, music and slogans to challenge the Election Commission.

• Opposition leaders and activists call for Kumar’s removal and electoral reforms, including action over SIR.

Political tensions are rising in Kolkata as the Mamata-All India Trinamool Congress (Mamata-AITC) prepares to hold a protest march from Rajabazar to Park Circus on Tuesday, 13 October, demanding the resignation and arrest of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Scheduled for 2.00 pm with Durga Puja nearing, the march is expected to draw party workers and supporters as protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Centre gather momentum across the country.

Mamata-AITC has described the demonstration as a “massive protest march” against what it calls the Centre’s attempts to “stifle the voice of democracy”. The party has also condemned the detention of Mamata Banerjee in Delhi and what it describes as the “repression” of Opposition leaders and young protesters.

Banerjee, who is in Delhi for the INDIA bloc protests, may join the march after returning to Kolkata. Her participation, however, remains uncertain. Party leaders have said the demonstration will go ahead regardless of whether she attends.

Former Rajya Sabha MP and party leader Subhashis Chakraborty said the party was determined to take its protest to the streets. “We do not know whether the police will grant permission for the rally. But I can say this much: the protest rally will definitely take place, and our leaders will be present,” he said.

Kolkata Police’s decision on permission remains a key question. The proposed route passes through busy parts of the city, including Rajabazar, CIT Road and Park Circus, where traffic is heavier ahead of Durga Puja. With pandal inaugurations under way and large crowds gathering across Kolkata, the authorities may face pressure to balance public safety and traffic management with the right to peaceful protest.

Mamata-AITC leaders insist that the demonstration is not intended to disrupt the festive atmosphere. They argue that defending democratic rights remains essential, even during the Puja season. The party’s student, youth, women’s and labour wings have been urged to participate, while local leaders and workers began campaigning on Monday to encourage a large turnout.

The BJP, however, has dismissed the proposed rally. North Kolkata district BJP president Tamoghna Ghosh said, “The Trinamool has become irrelevant. The residents of Kolkata and the state have no interest in what they do or do not do. We are unwilling to even think or speak about such an irrelevant political party.”

The planned demonstration comes amid a wider movement against Gyanesh Kumar, with Left-wing student organisations also taking to Kolkata’s streets in solidarity with protesters in Delhi.

On Sunday, members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) joined a march demanding the chief election commissioner’s resignation. Protesters carried posters and placards, raised slogans against Kumar and called for the protection of democracy.

A separate march from Sealdah to Dharmatala featured rap music, satirical posters and slogans such as ‘Gyanesh, it’s done bro!’ and ‘Vote chor, gaddi chhor (vote thief, quit your seat)’. Some participants wore skeleton masks, giving the demonstration a distinct youth-led character. The march concluded with the slogan ‘BJP, quit India’.

When the procession reached Dharmatala at around 4.30 pm, traffic came to a standstill. Organisers then held a brief rally on Rani Rashmoni Road, where Left leaders addressed the crowd under tight police security.

SFI state secretary Debanjan Dey accused the authorities of undermining democratic rights. “The entire nation has awakened; memories of the ‘Quit India’ movement have been rekindled. They are trying to snatch away our voting rights. That is why we say: BJP, Quit India,” he said.

The protests have also brought Opposition leaders together. At a conference organised by Bharat Jodo Abhiyan at Moulali Yuba Kendra on Sunday, Mamata-AITC MP Saugata Roy, CPI(M) leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and Congress leader Prasenjit Bose joined other political figures, lawyers and activists.

Roy said a people’s movement would force Kumar to step down, arguing that sustained public pressure could also challenge the BJP’s hold on power. The conference called for Kumar’s removal, changes to the electoral system and action over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.