‘Left in a huff’, ‘BJP’s dalal': Mamata Banerjee's EC meeting ends as another flashpoint

WEst Bengal Chief government minister Mamata Banerjee on mon met with the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, in new delhi o'er the Special Intensive revisal (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state ahead of the upcoming assembly polls.EC officials quoted in a PTI report claimed that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader “left the meeting in a huff” without listening to the response of the election body's top brass to the issues she raised.Speaking to the media after leaving the Election Commission's headquarters, the West Bengal CM launched a fresh tirade against the poll panel, accusing it of functioning as the BJP's "dalal" (middleman)."So many people have died, who is responsible? The EC is responsible. They are working at the BJP's behest. They behaved very badly with us. I said I am sorry we came here for justice; we did not get that, and you are lying. He is a great liar...," she said."We said we will fight it on the ground. You have the power of the BJP; we have the power of the people. We boycotted the meeting and came out. They have insulted us, humiliated us... I have not seen this type of Election Commission; they are very arrogant ... He talks with an attitude like he is Zamindar and we are servants," she alleged.How did the Mamata Banerjee-EC meeting transpire?Mamata Banerjee met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and fellow ECs wearing a black shawl as a mark of "protest", TMC said in a statement. Along with the West Bengal CM, her party leaders and some "SIR-affected" families were also present in the meeting, the statement added.EC officials said that TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee spoke first in the meeting, followed by Mamata Banerjee, adding that the points raised by them were duly noted down by CEC Kumar and Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi."When the CEC started to respond, the TMC leaders interjected on multiple occasions. She was agitated and left the meeting in a huff," an official quoted by PTI claimed.According to the EC statement, the CEC explained that the "rule of law will prevail" and anybody taking the law into their own hands will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the provisions of law and powers vested in the Commission.CEC Kumar told the TMC leadership that its MLAs are openly using abusive and threatening language against the Commission, especially against the CEC.There have been incidents of vandalism of the electoral registration officers by TMC workers and MLAs, Kumar told TMC leaders."No pressure, obstruction, or interference of any kind by anyone should be exerted on officers engaged in SIR work. Honorarium payable to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) should be released in a timely manner without any further delay, the CEC told the delegation," an official said.EC's demands from the West Bengal governmentThe Election Commission's statement listed some demands it has made of the West Bengal government. The Commission said it had requested a proposal for the appointment of ROs on January 20, in accordance with the criteria.“At present, only in 67 Assembly Constituencies, ROs are of the rank of SDO/SDM,” the apex poll body said.On transfer of EROs, the Commission said, "The Government of West Bengal has transferred three Electoral Roll Observers without consulting ECI. ECI has requested for cancellation of transfer orders on 27.01.2026. However, no action has been reported so far."The EC further alleged that the state government has not registered an FIR against four officers (two ERO and two AERO) and one Data Entry Operator “for their failure to perform their statutory duties and for violating data security policies by sharing login credentials with unauthorised persons”.