Mamata Banerjee Walks Out of Election Commission Meeting Over SIR Concerns

PTI, NEW DELHI, FEB 2, 2026 : Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday walked out of a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR issue, accusing him of being “arrogant” and alleged that the poll panel had “humiliated” their delegation.

Wearing black shawls as a mark of “protest”, the TMC supremo, accompanied by party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and MP Kalyan Banerjee, and 12 members of “SIR affected families” from West Bengal, met Chief Election Commissioner Kumar and fellow ECs here, her party said.

Banerjee, who has been demanding a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in her poll-bound state, later said they “boycotted” the meeting in protest, while Election Commission (EC) officials claimed she left in a huff without listening to the response of the EC top brass on the issues raised by her.

The CEC told the TMC leaders that the “rule of law will prevail” and anybody taking the law into their own hands will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the provisions of law and powers vested in the Commission, the EC officials said.

Talking to the media after coming out of the Election Commission’s headquarters here, the Chief Minister launched a fresh tirade against the poll panel, accusing it of working as the BJP’s “dalal” (middleman).

“So many people have died, who is responsible? The EC is responsible. They are working at the behest of the BJP,” Mamata alleged.

“They behaved very badly with us, I said I am sorry we came here for justice; we did not get that, and you are lying. He is a great liar…,” she said.

“We said we will fight it on the ground. You have the power of the BJP, we have the power of the people. We boycotted the meeting and came out. They have insulted us, humiliated us… I have not seen this type of Election Commission; they are very arrogant… He talks with an attitude like he is Zamindar and we are servants,” she alleged.

However, EC officials said that the TMC leaders were given a patient hearing.

First TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee spoke, followed by Mamata Banerjee, the officials said, adding that the points raised by them were duly noted down by CEC Kumar and Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

“When the CEC started to respond, the TMC leaders interjected on multiple occasions. She was agitated and left the meeting in a huff,” an official said.

The CEC explained that the “rule of law will prevail” and anybody taking the law into their own hands will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the provisions of law and powers vested in the Commission, they said.

CEC Kumar told the TMC leadership that its MLAs are openly using abusive and threatening language against the Commission and especially against the CEC.

There have been incidents of vandalism of the electoral registration officers by TMC workers and MLAs, Kumar told TMC leaders.

“No pressure, obstruction, or interference of any kind by anyone should be exerted on officers engaged in SIR work. Honorarium payable to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) should be released in a timely manner without any further delay,” the CEC told the delegation, an official said.

TMC sources said that around 100 people from families of those affected by the ongoing SIR process had been brought to Delhi by the party.

These include those who have been “declared dead”, and kin of those who lost their lives allegedly during the SIR process.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister confronted police personnel deployed outside the Banga Bhawan in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri and alleged harassment of the families affected by the SIR exercise in her state who have been brought to the national capital by the TMC.

Police said security arrangements in the area have been stepped up after the incident.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee stand outside Banga Bhavan, in New Delhi on Monday –– PTI.

Addressing reporters, Mamata said that the people from Bengal had come to raise their issue with the Election Commission, but were being “threatened”.

She questioned the heavy police deployment outside the Bhawan’s premises.

However, the Chief Minister added that she doesn’t blame the police, but “those who are on the top”, referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Chief Minister had reached the national capital on Sunday, a day before her meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on the SIR issue.

Around 50 families impacted by the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal have been brought to the national capital and are staying at various properties of the state government, including the Banga Bhawan in Chanakyapuri.

A few of these families were later taken to the meeting at the Election Commission on Monday.

Amid high drama, Mamata reached the Banga Bhawan in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri on Monday morning, where she confronted the Delhi Police over the “heavy” security deployment.

The TMC supremo was seen directly confronting the security personnel and asking them to be sensitive towards the families of those who have been impacted by the SIR in her state.

“People from Bengal are being threatened in Banga Bhawan… Our case is going on in the Supreme Court; we have a meeting at the Election Commission. We are here with an official appointment… People have died, can their families not talk to the media,” Mamata said while talking to reporters.

Police presence was increased at the Banga Bhawan in Chanakyapuri and Mandi House with personnel stationed at multiple points near the premises, police said, without elaborating on specific security arrangements.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, including Saket Gokhale, Dola Sen, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Bapi Haldar, meanwhile, rushed to different locations in the national capital where the SIR-impacted families are staying.