Mamata Banerjee, CPI(M) bridged the decades-old rift over the Election Commission’s concerns

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. File | Photo credit: ANI

Decades-long differences notwithstanding, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby on Friday, with the two leaders converging on the “diminishing credibility” of the Election Commission (EC).

The challenge is unprecedented and comes on the back of a rivalry spanning almost three decades. Ms Banerjee left the Congress and formed the Trinamool Congress in 1997, believing that the state Congress leadership was too soft on the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front. In 2011, she succeeded in defeating the 34-year-old government of the Left Front. The CPI(M) remained the sharpest critic of Ms Banerjee’s 15-year rule, which ended with the 2026 assembly elections.

Friday’s call came as a result of an awareness drive by Mr Baba, who, following a recent Indian Express report that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had allegedly ignored objections raised by fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on various decisions related to a special intensive revision of electoral rolls, had written to leaders of several political parties urging them to “urge them to encourage”.

Mr. Baby wrote a letter dated September 23, 2026 to parties operating in and outside the INDIA opposition bloc. Outside the INDIA bloc, he approached the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He also sent the same call to the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which is not registered as a political party.

In his letter, Mr Baby wrote that to protect “constitutional values” and the “right of citizens to vote” it is essential that all political branches meet and discuss the “urgency that the situation demands”.

“The people of our country look to us with the hope that we will all stand up to defend democracy, secularism and the right to vote,” he said, asking the parties to find a mutually convenient date and place to meet.

According to sources, Ms. Banerjee was one of the first leaders to respond to Mr. Baba’s plea. She agreed with him, writing: “This is a truly extraordinary situation in which the credibility of the ECI and our democracy is at stake.” The two leaders spoke by phone on Friday in a call that sources described as “warm”. According to sources, Ms. Banerjee also informed Mr. Baba that she has approached Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to convene a meeting of the INDIA bloc as soon as possible.

Although the two parties remained part of the INDIA bloc, they kept their distance from each other. The call marks the first direct contact between the two sides in decades.

Published – 25 Sep 2026 22:31 IST