West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee continues her ‘Dharna’ for the fifth day on the SIR issue at Dharmatala, Kolkata March 10, 2026 | Photo credit: ANI
Four days after she sat in a demonstration in Kolkata to protest the deletion during the Special Intensive Review (SIR), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) ended her dharna, vowing to continue the struggle until every voter is assured of their right to vote.
Ms Banerjee cited developments in the Supreme Court earlier on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) when the court suggested setting up a special tribunal to hear appeals from the objection stage as a positive outcome of her protest.
“Even if the (Election Commission of India or EC) calls for March 15-16 elections, the game will not end there. The game will continue in the Supreme Court,” Ms. Banerjee said from a podium set up for the dharna before ending her fifth day of demonstration.
“Our dharna was for two reasons – one was for the people who were wrongfully struck off the electoral rolls and to ensure justice for the people who were brought to justice and to ensure that they get their voting rights back,” she said.
Her dharna was also against the EC’s interference in the work of judicial officers who were working to resolve cases under judicial proceedings, she said.
During the five-day protest, Ms. Banerjee and her party advisers targeted the EC. The commission was working as an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to take away voting rights from the people of the state, Ms. Banerjee said.
The chief minister’s dharna began on March 6. She was joined by her party colleagues, including MPs and ministers. The decision to call off the demonstration came after Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee publicly called on the party president and his aunt to call off the protest on Tuesday (March 10).
“The Supreme Court today recognized our demands. So I am appealing on behalf of everyone to Didi that you have been on the road for the last five days… Now ask for an end to this dharna,” Mr. Banerjee said from the dais set up for the dharna.
The fight is not over, the Diamond Harbor MP said, and the fight will only end when every citizen gets the right to vote. The TMC workers were still there, he said, and would continue the fight on their way from there and “defeat the BJP from all 80,000 booths”.
Meets Anand Bose’s CV
After ending her dharna in Calcutta, Ms. Banerjee went to meet former West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose in Calcutta. Mr. Bose resigned on March 5; former Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is expected to take over as the next Governor of West Bengal.
The Trinamool Congress president started the dharna to protest against the “improperly” deleted voters and for the 60 million people of West Bengal who were convicted after the SIR process was completed and the final voter list was released on 28 February.
The entire European Commission bench, on a two-day visit to West Bengal, is likely to head back to Delhi and call assembly elections in the next few days, even as the voting rights of 60,000 people remain in limbo.
Council elections can be held in April.
Published – 10 March 2026 22:16 IST
