Stir against SIR a meeting point for Trinamool and Congress

The campaign against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar has provided a meeting ground for the INDIA bloc parties, especially the Congress and Trinamool Congress, the only two allies under the bloc who did not have an electoral understanding during the 2024 General Election.

The relationship between the Congress and the Trinamool rapidly declined from December 2023, after the two sides failed to work out a seat-sharing arrangement. The Trinamool’s offer of two seats wasn’t acceptable to the Congress West Bengal unit, then headed by former Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Mr. Chowdhury tirades against the Trinamool leadership, especially Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, worsened the situation. The Trinamool, while remaining in the larger INDIA bloc, has often taken an independent stance standing at a remove from the bloc.

New bonhomie

At a dinner on Thursday hosted by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for INDIA bloc leaders, the two sides seemed to have turned a page. According to sources, before sitting down for dinner, the Trinamool’s national general secretary and newly appointed Parliamentary leader in the Lok Sabha Abhishek Banerjee spent nearly 20 minutes chatting with Mr. Gandhi.

“Mr. Banerjee was seated along with DMK leader K. Kanimozhi, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. While the table was already crowded, Mr. Gandhi pulled a chair to sit beside Mr. Banerjee,” one of the leaders present at the dinner meeting said. The West Bengal Assembly elections are scheduled next year. Insiders are counting on this bonhomie to continue till then, helping the two sides to come to an electoral understanding.

The Election Commission has stated that the SIR will be extended to other States too, though it has not laid out a timetable. In 2026 four States go to polls: West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The leaders, as per multiple sources, discussed that the campaign against SIR has to be sustained beyond the Parliament session and the September 1 rally planned in Patna by the bloc.

Mr. Gandhi and the Congress received collective appreciation for their work on Mahadevapura Assembly segment in Karnataka. Mr. Gandhi, accusing the Election Commission of criminal fraud, said 1,00,250 fake voters were created in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment. It was also suggested that this exercise should be done for other constituencies, with one of the leaders suggesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha seat Varanasi specifically for a similar analysis.

The INDIA bloc leadership is also working to heal the rift between the Aam Aadmi Party and the bloc. To ensure AAP’s participation in a protest march to Election Commission’s office, scheduled for Monday, the leaders are carefully omitting the use of the “INDIA bloc” banner. AAP had recently announced that it is no longer part of the INDIA bloc.