The meeting between the Trinamool Congress delegation and the Election Commission of India on Wednesday turned contentious, with the TMC claiming it was told to “get lost” during the brief interaction. Meanwhile, TMC MP Derek O’Brien was asked to maintain decorum, the poll panel said.
The TMC claimed that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told his representatives to “get lost” at the end of the seven-minute meeting, while the poll panel accused the delegation of raising their voices and behaving subversively.
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“The CEC said you’re lost in the first 7 minutes”: Derek O’Brien
Speaking to the media after the meeting, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said the delegation had submitted letters from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the CEC. He added that they also pointed out specific cases of poll officials who allegedly had links with the BJP.
TMC MP Derek O’Brien said: “Today we went to the Chief Electoral Commissioner. He told us to ‘fuck off’ within 7 minutes of the meeting. He said the meeting started at 10:02 am and ended at 10:07 am.”
He added: “When we told him that you are transferring officials, and how do you want to hold free and fair elections? Then he said, ‘Get out of here… What I saw today is a disgrace. I challenge the Election Commissioner to publish the video or audio of what happened today.’
“One of our colleagues congratulated him on being the only CEC in India to have notices to remove notices in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and regarding this issue, today, all like-minded anti-BJP parties are together holding a press conference at 4-4:30 pm…”
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Election Commission response
According to PTI, sources within the Election Commission gave a completely different account, saying that the CEC had a “direct conversation” with the TMC leaders. They claimed O’Brien was yelling at commissioners and asked the CEC not to speak.
The sources stressed that the Commission remains committed to ensuring that elections in West Bengal are held in a manner “free from fear, violence, intimidation and temptations.”
The EC warned TMC ahead of the elections
The Election Commission has issued a stern warning to the Trinamool Congress ahead of the upcoming elections in West Bengal, stressing that the electoral process must remain free from malpractices.
The poll said House of Representatives elections in the state should be held without “fear, violence, intimidation and temptation,” while warning against illegal practices such as booth-grabbing, jamming booths, and “jamming the source” — that is, disrupting voter mobilization or access to them.
“ECI direct conversation with Trinamool Congress,” the electoral authority wrote on X. “This time, the elections in West Bengal will definitely be: fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, temptation-free, without any raiding, any jamming of booths, no jamming of sources.”
Why TMC vs EC?
Tensions have increased between the Transitional Military Council and the European Commission over the intensified special review of electoral lists. The TMC alleged that the EC is biased in favor of the opposition BJP to remove voters from the list.
The TMC claimed that of the 60,000 voters subjected to segregation, 27,000 were removed.
The total number of voters in West Bengal now stands at 7,04,59,284 (7.04 crore). This excludes names subject to demerger, down from ₹7,66,37,529 (Rs 7.66 lakh crore) before exercise of SIR.
The EC, last week, transferred 483 officials in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections, a much larger number than any other state going to the polls. This includes senior officials, police officers and returning officers.
The TMC opposed it, calling it a power grab, but the European Commission said it was necessary to ensure free and fair elections and avoid a repeat of post-election violence as happened in 2021.
The West Bengal elections will be held in two phases: April 23 and April 29. The results will be announced on May 4.
