Rupture in Election Commission: How dissent has played out in the poll panel in the past

For decades, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Mamata Banerjee and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) have been bitter political rivals in West Bengal. However, recent revelations in The Indian Express about the Election Commission (EC) dividing over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls have prompted a surprising turn of events. The two parties, founding members of the Opposition INDIA bloc, have established communication channels to address the concerns raised by their members.

Mamata Banerjee spoke with CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby over the phone, urging him to convene a meeting of the INDIA bloc as soon as possible. Baby had previously written to Banerjee and other leaders of the INDIA bloc and non-BJP parties, expressing the urgent need for a meeting to discuss the situation. Baby emphasized that the credibility of the EC and democracy itself is at risk, as over 13 crore voters are denied their right to vote due to the SIR process.

Banerjee also spoke with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who suggested convening a meeting of the INDIA bloc as soon as possible, preferably on Monday or Tuesday. The CPI(M) general secretary had written to Banerjee and other leaders of the INDIA bloc and non-BJP parties, urging them to come together for a meeting to discuss the developments related to the poll panel.

The parties have demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an impartial probe into the functioning of the EC supervised by the Supreme Court, and a halt to the SIR exercise. The TMC, currently reeling from internal upheavals, faces an existential crisis at this time.