'Partisan' poll panel on social media is proof that only Trinamool can fight BJP: CM
Telegraph | 10 April 2026
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday highlighted Nirvachan Sadan's "partisan" ultimatum on its social media handle to her party, the Trinamool Congress, as definitive proof of her party’s solitary struggle to protect Bengal.
Mamata launched a scathing attack on what she described as a targeted butchery of the rights of genuine Indian citizens jointly by the "compromised" Election Commission and the BJP to manipulate the state's mandate against her, by excluding nearly 91 lakh voters from the rolls.
She also revived her call for a major, popular uprising against the alleged othering and politically motivated marginalisation of the Bengali identity, a raging pre-SIR issue that the saffron camp might struggle to counter in its quest to conquer this elusive eastern state.
Framing the April 23-29 polls as a fight to the finish for the very "existence of Bengal", the Trinamool chairperson positioned herself as the sole bulwark against the "mass disenfranchisement" of the Bengal edition of the SIR by the Gyanesh Kumar-led poll panel.
Her rhetoric was fueled by a fairly unprecedented confrontation in Delhi on Wednesday between her party and Gyanesh, when the CEC allegedly told Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien to "get lost", not long before the official EC handle on X publicly jeered at Trinamool. This incident drew heavy criticism from most in the national Opposition, besides many netizens. Trinamool countered by rebranding the EC's logo as the "BJP Election Cell".
“I have always told the bitter truth. The media is forced to show (what) the BJP provides them. On X, the EC gave Trinamool an ultimatum. Your ultimatum means that it is only the Trinamool that can fight against the BJP...," she said at a Minakhan rally.
"Nobody else has the power to do so. Only Trinamool. I extend my wishes to you (Kumar).... TMC fights alone. Despite all this, we will still win," she said.
On March 12, a notice steered by Trinamool with the signatures of 193 Opposition MPs from both Houses accused Gyanesh of presiding over compromised appointments, partisan and discriminatory conduct, deliberate obstruction of investigations into electoral fraud, “mass disenfranchisement” under the SIR, non-compliance with Supreme Court directions, and failure to maintain independence and constitutional fidelity. Both Houses of Parliament rejected it on Monday.
Mamata addressed the "biggest question" in the 2026 Bengal elections.
“The biggest question in this election is the existence of Bengal, if it will remain. It’s a question of whether the identity of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will remain intact. The question is whether their language... will remain or not. When people of Bengal speak in their mother tongue in BJP-ruled states, they are tortured and lynched. While people speaking in Bengali in BJP-ruled states are branded as infiltrators, the BJP brings outsiders to our state. For us, they are infiltrators,” she said.
"To save Bengal, you must not vote for any other party. Don’t let the BJP come to power. We need to unite against the BJP.... Remember, I always stood by you in your times of need. I am not a jomidar (feudal lord) from Delhi. I am Bengal’s paharadar (protector)," she said.
At Palta, she highlighted the human cost of the SIR, alleging that around 250 people had died from stress over the process. She specifically pointed to the mass deletion of women voters — one of her core support bases — following post-marriage surname changes, or what she described as "AI-driven" conspiracy.
“These were not (logical) discrepancies but conspiracies to delete voters, especially in seats where TMC won.... The people will answer them for being against women, farmers, labourers, youth, minorities, SCs, STs,” she said.
"Cast your vote in a way so that nobody dares to call any of us infiltrators, ever again," added Mamata. "I will ensure that no legitimate voter is left out of the electoral roll...."