Supporters aligned with a breakaway faction of Trinamool Congress converged on the Rajabazar area of Kolkata on Tuesday, holding a rally under restricted conditions and demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar vacate his post over allegations of vote-rigging. Neither Mamata Banerjee, who previously served as Chief Minister, nor national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee attended, leaving the party's senior ranks unrepresented at the gathering.
Among those at the helm of the procession were Kunal Ghosh, who holds the Beleghata assembly seat, former legislator Humayun Kabir, parliamentarian Dola Sen, and Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who also represents an assembly constituency. Barricades erected by a combined deployment of more than 100 Kolkata Police and central force personnel blocked the route at the assembly point, halting a procession that had been planned to travel from Rajabazar to Park Circus at 2 pm.
Ghosh characterised the BJP and the state administration as suppressing a lawful political gathering, while participants at the blockade site maintained their position and raised slogans including "vote chor, gaddi chhor." The party stated that its youth and student wings had arranged the demonstration and had informed the police through email ahead of time. Banerjee attributed the gathering to students and young people, saying the initiative to hold it had come from them rather than from her.
The gathering was brought to a halt by police. The party characterised the measure as a violation of constitutional and legal standards and as an effort to restrict democratic participation.
Late Monday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari directed police to halt the procession, stating that the Commissioner of Police had been told not to permit any movement beyond Rajabazar, while the opposing side indicated plans to take the matter before the Supreme Court. Adhikari announced an intention to direct law enforcement to address the problem at its source. A request for central forces to be deployed was also put forward, should the need arise. The official stated that any disruption to Durga Puja festivities would not be permitted.
Speaking at Lalbazar well ahead of the planned march, Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda indicated that no formal application had reached the force, and that any such gathering would require prior authorisation before it could take place. Decisions by the police administration, he noted, rest on established grounds rather than content drawn from social media posts or posters. Every year, Durga Puja brings with it a notable uptick in the demands placed on the city's traffic management and public safety operations, the police commissioner noted.
