Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ganesh Kumar, accompanied by West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agrawal, offered prayers on Monday at the Kalighat temple in Kolkata as several people gathered outside to protest his visit.
Security personnel had to control a crowd of protesters who were seen waving black flags when Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar arrived at the temple premises.
“Greetings to all brothers and sisters of West Bengal. May Goddess Kali bless everyone. Jai Bharat, Jai Hind,” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said while talking to the reporter.
On the other hand, Subrata Gupta, Special Observer from West Bengal, while speaking to reporters, said: “Let us pray for the elections to be held peacefully.”
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Regarding the protest and the black flags that were raised in front of the Central Election Commission, he said: “Under democracy, every person has the right to protest.” He adds: “There is a meeting today and tomorrow. There is a meeting with many officials, with political parties, with the press, with everyone. It will be decided in the meeting what arrangements will be made for the vote. The elections will be held in a completely peaceful manner…”
Meanwhile, locals in West Bengal on Sunday gathered in front of a private hotel in New Town, wearing stickers on their chests reading “Back, Gyanesh Kumar, Killer of Democracy” as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners SS Sandhu, Vivek Joshi, Chief Deputy Election Commissioners Manish Garde and Pawan Kumar arrived at Kolkata airport along with CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The Central Election Commission arrived in Kolkata on a three-day visit today, scheduled from March 8-10, to review election preparedness in West Bengal.
Local residents staged a protest and raised a black flag to the Chief Election Commissioner’s convoy outside Kolkata airport.
During the visit, they will review the preparations for the upcoming 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. They will meet all political parties, senior administration and police officials.
Earlier on Saturday, after reviewing preparations for the upcoming elections in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar said that the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala are expected to set a standard for democratic practices, expressing confidence in the readiness of the state’s electoral machinery and cooperation from political parties.
“Kerala has been my karma bhoomi for 22 years. Now I am back here to review the preparation for the upcoming elections. All political parties and the entire electoral machinery have assured that the upcoming elections in Kerala will be a model not only for the country but also for the world,” he stated.
Politics has heated up in Bengal as the state prepares to face assembly elections in the first half of this year. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing a major challenge from the BJP.
