Trinamool Congress, the party headed by Mamata Banerjee, has scheduled a rally through Kolkata's streets on Tuesday directed at both the central government and the Election Commission, coming one day after party members gathered in New Delhi to voice opposition to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Departing from Rajabazar at 2 pm, the procession — organised by the party's student and youth wings — is set to make its way through to Park Circus. Whether Mamata Banerjee, who heads both West Bengal's government and the Trinamool Congress, will attend the rally has not been confirmed, given that her schedule has kept her occupied with party-related engagements in Delhi.
Whether the party has secured the necessary police authorisation for the procession remains an open question. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh noted his intention to take part, adding that Banerjee's attendance was uncertain given her commitments in Delhi at the time. When a reporter put the question of police permission to Ghosh, he indicated he had no firm answer, though he said he thought the authorities were unlikely to give their approval.
Among the reasons put forward by the TMC for holding the protest is a call for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to be removed from his post and taken into custody, on the grounds that the party holds him responsible for enabling fraudulent conduct during elections. Among the planned activities at the Delhi demonstration, the party intends to raise objections over Banerjee's detention alongside what it characterises as the stifling of opposition figures and the curtailment of democratic participation.
A call went out from Banerjee to members across the party's student, youth, trade union, and women's wings, urging their presence at the planned demonstration. Door-to-door outreach extended through Kolkata's neighbourhoods on Monday, with the party building momentum in the days before its scheduled rally.
Suvendu Adhikari, who holds the position of Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, took aim at the planned march, remarking that those behind it had picked what he described as a particularly apt venue. No further details were offered by Adhikari, yet the comment was widely taken as pointing to the population make-up of the Rajabazar and Park Circus neighbourhoods.
Adhikari further claimed that opposition parties had aligned themselves with what he characterised as "Dimagi Naxals" and groups he labelled anti-national, with the aim of targeting the BJP-led government at the Centre. He attributed the protests over the electoral roll SIR to what he characterised as an organised network of established political insiders acting against his interests.
Durga Puja draws near for Kolkata, with devotees already filling pandal sites throughout the city — a backdrop against which the planned march has taken shape. On Tuesday, a number of pandal visits for inauguration purposes are part of Adhikari's confirmed itinerary.
Planned procession paths taking in Rajabazar, CIT Road, and Park Circus are anticipated to test road management capacity, particularly as festival activity builds across various parts of the city and keeps traffic volumes elevated throughout the day. Monday's New Delhi action by the TMC set the stage for this latest mobilisation, with the party maintaining its stance against the electoral roll revision process and pressing the Election Commission for greater transparency.
