TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to attend INDIA bloc meeting on September 30

Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee will attend the INDIA bloc meeting on September 30. The meet, which is set to discuss the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), will bring political rivals CPI(M) and TMC together.

In a rare show of solidarity, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) chief held talks with CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, along with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, over holding a meeting of the INDIA bloc.

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Addressing a rally in Hooghly, Banerjee told news agency ANI, "Why was the SIR conducted? It was forced upon us solely to capture Bengal, as they couldn't win otherwise. Under the guise of SIR, the names of 92 lakh people were struck off."

Banerjee said TMC was the first party to raise this issue. "We went to court and managed to get 32 lakh reinstated. Yet, 27 lakh names remained excluded...you removed the names of 92 lakh people in Bengal alone. And across the country, nearly 13 crore people have fallen victim to this SIR process," she said.

INDIA bloc formed in 2023

The INDIA bloc was formed in 2023 ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It brought together parties with different ideological positions and competing regional interests. The bloc held its first meeting in Patna in June 2023, followed by a meeting in Bengaluru in July, where it was formally named.

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Since then, the bloc has seen differences over electoral strategies, seat-sharing and state-level political equations. In West Bengal, the TMC and Congress contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately, while the CPI(M)-led Left Front also fought the polls on its own.

Banerjee's latest appeal is notable as she seeks to bring different opposition parties together around a common institutional issue.

Banerjee questions arrest of Milan Pradhan

She also questioned the arrest of Congress's Nandigram by-election candidate Milan Pradhan in cases linked to the 2007 Nandigram anti-land acquisition agitation.

The TMC's Mamata faction candidate withdrew from the contest after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Banerjee then extended her support to Pradhan.

Banerjee had earlier demanded action against Kumar and called for fresh assembly elections using rolls that predate the SIR exercise.

The Election Commission has said the revision exercise is aimed at ensuring the integrity and accuracy of electoral rolls. It has also maintained that differences within an institutional process are part of normal deliberations.