Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday demanded repolls in the state, alleging that the 2026 Assembly election was compromised under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who oversaw the polls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She also demanded Kumar’s arrest and criminal proceedings against him.
"BJP and Gyanesh Kumar is a joint venture company. They together looted the Bengal election. If you have any moral strength, give back our election," Banerjee said.
Her remarks came months after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) 15-year rule in Bengal. The BJP won 207 of the 293 seats for which results were declared on May 4, comfortably crossing the 147-seat majority mark, while the TMC secured 80 seats.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief has now linked the electoral defeat to the SIR exercise, describing it as a process that worked in favour of the ruling BJP.
She accused CEC Kumar and the BJP of acting in concert and alleged that the Election Commission had shielded the party during the election process.
Calling SIR a "Special Incentive for Ruling party", Banerjee alleged that the Election Commission had provided protection to the BJP. "This CEC must be arrested. He has no moral authority to continue," she said.
The scale of the SIR exercise has remained central to the controversy. According to poll panel figures, nearly 79 lakh names—around 10 per cent of West Bengal's voter roll—were removed between the 2024 Lok Sabha election and the 2026 Assembly polls.
Banerjee demanded repolls in all states where Kumar conducted elections and oversaw the SIR exercise.
"Gyanesh Kumar must be arrested, and criminal proceedings must be initiated," she said.
She alleged that Kumar's "only job is to satisfy the ego of BJP" and claimed that the BJP won the 2024 Lok Sabha election and elections held in 2025-26 because of him.
"As long as you retain the chair, we shall continue to protest. All INDIA bloc will protest," Banerjee said. She said the INDIA bloc would meet soon and called for an "uprising" against the Election Commission.
Referring to the Opposition’s earlier impeachment motion against Kumar, Banerjee said, "They didn’t allow our impeachment motion. But impeachment isn’t required anymore. Now he should be arrested".
Banerjee also said the Opposition had approached the Chief Justice of India seeking redressal. "Now the judiciary should listen to the voice of the common man," she said.
The TMC chief's scathing remarks came amid another major political controversy surrounding several TMC leaders, MLAs and MPs' rebellion against the Mamata Banerjee-led camp in Bengal.
She has also been fighting a legal battle to get those who defected from her faction of the TMC disqualified, the final decision on which is yet to be taken by the concerned bodies.
The dispute has since moved into the legal and electoral arena, with the Election Commission examining competing claims over the TMC's name and symbol ahead of Assembly bypolls.
Meanwhile, more than 37 lakh appeals relating to SIR changes remained pending before tribunals as of September, according to the Commission's submission to the Supreme Court.
Banerjee's latest demand therefore adds another layer to an already prolonged post-election confrontation.
Her call for repolls and action against the CEC is likely to keep the SIR process, the conduct of the 2026 election and the TMC's internal battle at the centre of Bengal's political and legal debate in the weeks ahead.
