SIR row brings TMC and CPM closer on Election Commission concerns as Suvendu Adhikari attacks Mamata Banerjee over political coordination and the ‘Azadi’ slogan.
Qalam Times News Network
Kolkata, September 27, 2026
Kolkata: The SIR controversy over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has brought an unusual element into West Bengal’s sharply polarised politics, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) appearing to coordinate their response to the Election Commission.
The SIR issue has intensified political activity among opposition parties following demands for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby has written to opposition leaders, including TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, seeking a coordinated response to the developments surrounding the Election Commission. Baby subsequently spoke with Banerjee, with both leaders discussing the need for opposition parties to come together on the issue.
The development has given BJP leader and West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari an opportunity to attack both the TMC and the CPI(M). Referring to the communication between Mamata Banerjee and M A Baby, Adhikari described the development as a sign of political proximity between two parties that have remained bitter rivals in Bengal for decades.
Adhikari questioned whether the political distance between the TMC and CPI(M) was narrowing because of their common opposition to the Election Commission’s position on the SIR exercise. His remarks came after Banerjee addressed a rally in Serampore, where she sharply criticised the Election Commission and the BJP and referred to the issue of “Azadi” from the stage.
Taking a swipe at the emerging coordination, Adhikari reportedly invoked the phrase “Tukde Tukde Gang” while attacking the TMC and the Left. He argued that the political forces that had once fought each other in Bengal were now finding common ground against the BJP.
The BJP leader also sought to remind voters of the political history of Bengal, where the TMC rose to power in 2011 after defeating the Left Front government led by the CPI(M). He used that history to question the present communication between the two parties.
From Political Rivals to Issue-Based Coordination?
The recent developments, however, do not by themselves establish a formal political alliance between the TMC and the CPI(M). Current reports indicate that their communication has been centred on the Election Commission, the SIR exercise and broader opposition coordination rather than a declared electoral arrangement. The two parties remain political rivals in West Bengal.
The CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation have demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the SIR exercise. The Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that differences and observations within the poll panel are part of institutional deliberations and that its decisions follow statutory procedures.
The issue has also widened beyond the TMC and CPI(M). Opposition parties are discussing a coordinated response, and an INDIA bloc meeting is expected to take place in New Delhi on September 30 to discuss the Election Commission controversy and the SIR exercise.
For Suvendu Adhikari, the episode provides another opportunity to portray the TMC and Left as moving closer on an issue that has become a major political flashpoint. For the TMC and CPI(M), however, their recent interaction is being presented as part of a broader opposition effort over electoral-roll revision and concerns surrounding the functioning of the Election Commission.
The political significance of the latest exchanges will therefore depend on whether this issue-specific coordination continues beyond the present SIR controversy or remains limited to a common response to the Election Commission.
