Will the ECI row give Mamata Banerjee a second wind?

Former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee seems to have sensed an opportunity to inject momentum into her politics against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), capitalising on the controversy over the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its chief Gyanesh Kumar.

A national political row erupted on Wednesday after an Indian Express news report said that two of the three poll commissioners objected to decisions made on the contentious Special Intensive Regulation (SIR) process. Opposition leaders, including Banerjee, accused the ECI of attempting to hijack the electoral process and putting democracy under threat.

Hours after the controversy erupted on Wednesday, Banerjee released a video message on social media demanding the arrest of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and stating that the allies of the INDIA-bloc will meet very soon.

Also read: ‘The solution is...’: Supreme Court asks ECI for timeline on Trinamool symbol row

“There should be a fresh mass movement . . .Protest will continue till he (Kumar) is on the CEC’s chair. The INDIA-bloc members and other regional parties will fight this battle together. I had said that a storm would come. It has already come,” Banerjee said in the 17-minute video clip.

Banerjee, who now heads the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress action after a split in the party, has demanded the arrest of Kumar and fresh polls in West Bengal based on pre-SIR electoral data.

Senior leaders of her party said workers were likely to hit the streets soon to protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “Beware - the revolution is coming! Everyone is going to hit the streets till we reclaim our democracy from the clutches of this Chor,” TMC MP Mahua Moitra wrote on X.

Banerjee is scheduled to address a rally in Hooghly on Saturday where she is expected to come up with a roadmap for the protests ahead.

“The rally was already scheduled and the Calcutta high court has given the permission. The ECI controversy is likely to be the focal point of her address that day. She is expected to give an outline on how the battle would be fought in the coming days,” said a senior leader of the Mamata Banerjee faction.

Fresh political momentum?

This comes at a time when the AITC founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998 has split into multiple factions led by rebel MPs and MLAs after the BJP swept the assembly polls winning 208 seats. The ECI has temporarily frozen the party’s original name and symbol ahead of the by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar due to a dispute among rival factions within the organisation.

Also Read: From SIR deletions to Form 6 and voter database: Election Commission’s point-by-point rebuttal amid row

“Banerjee’s party is past now. She and her party have lost relevance. It doesn’t matter what she (Banerjee) is saying. She earlier demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister. Now she is demanding the arrest of the CEC. She is just trying to stay afloat,” Samik Bhattacharya, told the media.

“Banerjee has lost her legitimacy. When she was in power, she did the same thing in the panchayat and civic elections – abuse the power of the state machinery to silence the opposition. Everyone has seen the level of corruption which had crept in the party. Even if she hit the streets, I don’t think that she would be able to get a second wind,” said Biswanath Chakraborty, political analyst.