Mamata closes ranks with INDIA bloc, says 'we have to fight together'

• Mamata Banerjee says INDIA bloc “very much united”, seeks to underline Opposition cohesion despite TMC’s previous differences with Congress and the Left.

• Assertion comes days after she spoke separately to Rahul Gandhi and CPI(M) general-secretary M.A. Baby to coordinate Opposition campaign against Election Commission. 

• Banerjee again demanded CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and repeated allegations of electoral manipulation, EVM tampering and voter deletions in Bengal.

Trinamool Congress founder and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, 30 September went out of her way to stress that the INDIA bloc was "very much united", as she sought to project a united Opposition front while renewing her demand for the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The emphasis on unity comes against the backdrop of the TMC’s often uneasy relationship with the INDIA bloc. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, Banerjee had made clear that there was no alliance between the TMC, Congress and CPI(M) in Bengal, even while maintaining that her party was part of the Opposition grouping at the national level. On one occasion, she also briefly said TMC would extend "outside support" to an INDIA bloc government at the Centre, before clarifying that the party was "very much part" of the alliance.

The latest effort to underline cohesion follows a fresh attempt by Banerjee to bridge differences with other Opposition parties over their campaign against the Election Commission of India (ECI). She spoke separately to Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and CPI(M) general-secretary M.A. Baby last week to discuss a joint strategy against the BJP and the CEC.

Addressing a joint press conference of INDIA bloc leaders after their meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, Banerjee said the Opposition had repeatedly raised concerns over what it calls "vote choir (theft)" in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and West Bengal, besides the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav had raised the issue of vote theft in Bihar. We have also raised concerns over electoral manipulation in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and Bengal, as well as in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," she said.

Banerjee said the Opposition had taken its concerns to the ECI and the Supreme Court and had "knocked on every possible door".

"But now, in our view, everything has come out in the open. I say that Gyanesh Kumar is responsible for vote theft and serious electoral wrongdoing," she alleged.

The demand for Kumar’s removal is not new. Banerjee has repeatedly attacked the CEC since the TMC’s defeat in the Bengal Assembly election in May, alleging that the electoral process was manipulated to help the BJP. Last week, she alleged that the SIR exercise had been conducted to help the BJP capture Bengal by deleting valid voters’ names.

On Wednesday, she again questioned the handling of EVMs and the counting process and raised allegations about software used in the electoral system. "If nothing was wrong, why were machines destroyed? Were EVMs tampered with? Why? Who is this software engineer? Where did the software come from?" she asked. "We believe software was developed and used to manipulate the electoral process."

Banerjee claimed that around 92 lakh voters had been affected in West Bengal and that the figure was more than 13 crore across the country. "We also believe that certain software were used that compromised EVMs and endangered the entire electoral system," she said.

She said Kumar’s removal was now a demand rather than a request. "Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately. Let us save democracy and ensure security of people and their voting rights. It is our constitutional right," she said. "If Gyanesh Kumar is not removed, this movement can go very far... We have to fight this battle together."

Banerjee also appealed to NGOs, students, youth, women, civil society groups and journalists to join the Opposition’s campaign. "They may try to prevent us from coming out of our homes. They may try to stop us from taking to the streets. But how long can they stop everyone?" she said. "I want to make one thing clear: we will fight; we will continue this struggle; we will work to restore democracy; and we will protect the Constitution. This is our promise."

Her renewed pitch for Opposition unity comes at a particularly significant moment for the TMC. After losing power in Bengal in the 2026 Assembly election, the party also faced internal rebellion, with a large group of MLAs and MPs breaking away from Banerjee’s camp. The developments had further complicated her position within the broader Opposition.

The current cooperation with Congress and the Left therefore marks a notable shift from the sharper differences that have characterised Opposition politics in Bengal, even as the parties remain rivals in the state’s political landscape.

The latest INDIA bloc meeting also comes days after the Indian Express reported that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders relating to the SIR. The ECI has maintained that differing views and observations are a normal part of institutional deliberations, but has not officially rebutted any of the allegations made in the report.