Mamata Banerjee Demands Fresh Elections in West Bengal, India

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) did not lose the West Bengal Assembly election but was defeated through a conspiracy and the “hijacking” of electronic voting machines (EVMs). She has demanded that the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process be scrapped and fresh elections be held in West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana based on the old voter list.
Five months after the election defeat, Mamata on Saturday held her first political rally outside Kolkata. The rally was held at the Serampore Court Maidan in Hooghly following an order from the Calcutta High Court, after police denied permission for the meeting.

Addressing the rally, the TMC leader said, “The SIR must be cancelled and elections must be held again in Bengal based on the old voter list. Not only Bengal, but fresh elections must also be held in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. They won the elections by hijacking EVMs and misusing the SIR. We did not lose the election; rather, we were defeated through a conspiracy. The rights of minorities, Adivasis and tribal communities have been taken away. The people are still with us.”

Referring to India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Ms. Mamata said the “hour of departure” had come for the CEC over alleged harassment through the deletion of names from the voter list. Claiming that she had coined the name “Vanish Kumar” for Gyanesh Kumar, she alleged that around 9.2 million voters in the state had been “vanished” from the electoral roll through the SIR process. Describing the Chief Election Commissioner as someone who had acted as a “protector of the law who became its predator,” she demanded his immediate arrest.
Criticising the current BJP government in the state, the former chief minister said people had begun to protest against the government just five months after it came to power. She alleged irregularities in various welfare schemes, including Annapurna Bhandar and ration cards. She also alleged that hawkers were being evicted without rehabilitation and that extortion had begun across the state.
Attack on Kunal Ghosh’s Car

Meanwhile, TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh came under attack in Uttarpara while travelling to attend the Serampore rally. A group of protesters displayed black flags in front of his car, chanted slogans and threw bricks and stones at the vehicle. Ghosh claimed that his car was damaged and that he suffered an injury to his shoulder. He returned to Kolkata after the road was blocked.
Ghosh blamed the BJP for the incident. The BJP, however, claimed that it was the result of an internal dispute within the TMC.

Meanwhile, Congress organised a protest march and rally at Hazra More in south Kolkata in the afternoon, demanding the resignation and arrest of the Chief Election Commissioner. During the rally, protesters chanted slogans against the CEC and attempted to burn an effigy of him, which police seized.