Mamata was among members of 23 political parties like the Congress and the Left Front at the Sep 30 INDIA bloc meet that outlined the Opposition's agenda in the coming week amid the ECI row.

Mamata was among members of 23 political parties like the Congress and the Left Front at the Sep 30 INDIA bloc meet that outlined the Opposition's agenda in the coming week amid the ECI row.

Mamata was among members of 23 political parties like the Congress and the Left Front at the Sep 30 INDIA bloc meet that outlined the Opposition's agenda in the coming week amid the ECI row.

Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC) supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday attended the INDIA bloc meeting with leaders of Opposition parties in Delhi.

The meeting brought together members of 23 political parties like the Congress and the Left Front on the national stage. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge listed the agenda in the coming week, which includes a march to Election Commission of India (ECI) on October 6 and Rahul Gandhi's speech on a mission to get justice and punish leaders found guilty in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Mamata also got her chance to make her point amongst key Opposition leaders.

“We are together, we stand together and we are very much united. What has come to light today regarding what we describe as a fixed electoral scam is a scandalous matter and the people have been deceived,” said Mamata Banerjee while referring to Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav raising the vote chori issue before the Bihar Assembly elections in 2025. The MAITC supremo also spoke about approaching the Supreme Court (SC) in the matter.

“I say that Gyanesh Kumar is responsible for vote theft and serious wrongdoing. We have raised questions about EVM handling, the counting process, and what we believe is the manipulation of the electoral system. He must resign immediately,” added the MAITC supremo.

Mamata referred to the media investigation on discrepancies within EC and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, the reference to 13 crore voters being left out of the SIR list, and 92 lakh voters in her state of West Bengal. The former West Bengal Chief Minister also alleged that the EVM software had been tampered with.

The MAITC supremo appealed to people including NGOs, students, youth, women, members of the cultural community and journalists to support the INDIA bloc while asking people to join in the programmes announced by Kharge.

“They may try to prevent us from coming out of our homes. They may stop us from taking to the streets. But how long can they stop everyone?” questioned Mamata.

Mamata has been opposing the SIR and crying foul over genuine voters being left out of the list when the exercise began. After her party’s loss in the Assembly elections this year, Mamata has been finding it hard to reach out to her supporters at the grassroots to strengthen her party as a formidable Opposition in her state.

Apart from this, her party is getting permission for political rallies from the Calcutta High Court, but not the state government.

She has also termed restrictions on her movements in the state for political outreach as virtual house arrest. Her attempts to prove there was vote rigging in her erstwhile constituency of Bhabanipur have also not borne fruit.

With the INDIA bloc meet and Opposition parties coming together to fight the BJP, Mamata hopes to make herself heard on the national stage and stay relevant as a key force to reckon with.

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