In a significant political development, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby spoke over the phone on Friday, sources said, as opposition parties step up efforts to coordinate their response to issues concerning the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The conversation came after Baby wrote to opposition parties seeking an early meeting to discuss concerns related to the functioning of the EC and the ongoing SIR exercise. According to sources, Banerjee responded promptly to the CPI(M) leader’s outreach and expressed support for a coordinated opposition response.
The phone call between Banerjee and Baby is particularly significant given the long-standing political rivalry between the TMC and the CPI(M) in West Bengal. Sources said Friday’s conversation marks the first direct contact between the leadership of the two parties in decades.
What was discussed?
During their conversation, Banerjee and Baby discussed concerns surrounding the credibility of the Election Commission, the electoral process and democratic institutions, sources said.
Banerjee also spoke to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and pushed for an INDIA bloc meeting early next week, sources added, indicating efforts to bring opposition parties together over the issue.
The development comes amid intensifying opposition criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise, with opposition parties seeking greater coordination on the issue.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has also issued a 48-hour ultimatum for his resignation and threatened a nationwide agitation. Founder Abhijeet Dipke, on Friday, said that the outfit will stage nationwide protests from October 2, which marks Gandhi Jayanti, if the Chief Election Commissioner does not resign by Saturday.
The controversy follows a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions and procedures relating to electoral rolls and the SIR process.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections resulted in a division within the three-member poll panel.
The Commission has said that decisions relating to the SIR were taken unanimously and with the approval of all three Election Commissioners.