INDIA Bloc Springs Back to Action After Lull, Didi Leads From The Front

Having remained silent and absent from the INDIA Bloc’s public engagements for a while, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has made her stance unmistakably clear — she’s aligned with regional parties in the broader national agenda to defeat the BJP in upcoming assembly elections.  Acting on Mamata’s suggestion, Opposition parties are set to gherao the Election Commission of India’s office in New Delhi on August 8 calling out widespread allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. With elections due this year in Bihar, as well as next year in non-BJP-ruled states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the issue is rapidly gaining traction as a national political flashpoint. Ahead of the protest, top leaders from the INDIA Bloc will convene in New Delhi on August 7 to finalise the gherao strategy. According to party sources, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will attend the meeting and also dinner hosted by Rahul Gandhi. Discussions may include not only the logistics of the EC gherao but also preparations for the Vice-Presidential election scheduled for August 9.  It may be recalled that on July 21, Didi warned the TMC would not hesitate to gherao the EC if the names of legitimate voters were found to be removed from Bengal’s electoral rolls under the SIR. In effect, Mamata has reasserted her political clout within the INDIA Bloc — not just through participation, but by driving the narrative on what she sees as a fundamental threat to democracy through electoral roll manipulation.