New Delhi, September 30, 2026 : Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the INDIA bloc is “very much united” and demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of electoral wrongdoing and manipulation.
Banerjee was speaking at a joint press conference of INDIA bloc leaders following their meeting in New Delhi. She said opposition parties had repeatedly raised concerns about what they describe as “vote theft” and alleged irregularities in the electoral process in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and West Bengal, as well as during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
She said Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav had raised concerns regarding Bihar, while opposition parties had also raised similar issues concerning other states and the 2024 general election.
Banerjee alleged that the opposition had approached the Election Commission and the Supreme Court over these concerns and said it had pursued the matter through available institutional channels. She subsequently called for Gyanesh Kumar’s removal from the post of CEC.
The Election Commission’s official officers directory currently lists Gyanesh Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner, alongside Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Banerjee also raised questions concerning the handling of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the counting process and software used in the electoral system. These were presented as allegations by her and other opposition leaders; they remain contested political claims rather than established findings in the material reviewed for this report.
The controversy is linked in particular to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have raised objections to aspects of the exercise and have called for changes in the Election Commission’s approach. The Election Commission and the government have disputed allegations of deliberate electoral manipulation.
Following the INDIA bloc meeting, opposition parties announced a series of programmes, including “Save Democracy” marches and demonstrations from October 2 to 8, as well as a proposed march by opposition MPs to the Election Commission on October 6.
Banerjee said opposition parties would continue their campaign jointly and argued that protecting voting rights and democratic institutions was a constitutional responsibility. She also appealed to civil society groups, students, youth, women and journalists to participate in the programmes announced by the bloc.
The developments mark another escalation in the political dispute between opposition parties and the Election Commission over electoral-roll revision, alleged irregularities and the conduct of the electoral process.
