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