Opposition looks beyond INDIA bloc to widen Gyanesh Kumar ouster campaign

The SIR controversy has set off a three-pronged Opposition outreach that saw bitter political rivals, the Trinamool Congress and CPI(M), directly communicating in a wider effort to oust Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, including by reaching out to NDA allies.

CPI(M) leader Hannan Mollah told The Federal that the immediate objective is to draw as much support as possible for action against Kumar, including an attempt to remove him through impeachment proceedings in parliament.

“This outreach is for just one issue, the removal of Gyanesh Kumar, and should not be seen as a larger, principle-based understanding with the TMC,” he said, adding that efforts are also on to bring in NDA allies who are on the same page on the issue.

He, however, refused to divulge details of the effort, saying only that several NDA partners could also support their demand for Kumar’s removal.

Arch rivals joining for larger national cause

As part of this effort, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby wrote to Mamata Banerjee and other opposition leaders on Wednesday (September 23), calling for a joint discussion on the controversy over the poll panel’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Mamata replied the next day, welcoming the proposal, and saying opposition parties should set aside differences and meet in Delhi. The two leaders then spoke over the phone on Friday (September 25) and discussed mobilising opposition parties around the issue and a joint strategy, including outreach to parties beyond the INDIA bloc.

Senior TMC leader Saugata Roy also confirmed that Mamata had spoken to the CPI(M) general secretary and also to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders.

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An INDIA bloc meeting is likely to be held at New Delhi’s Constitution Club on Wednesday (September 30) to be attended by Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, TMC sources said.

The Mamata-Baby conversation is significant because it shows that the two parties that have been arch rivals in Bengal for about three decades are willing to set aside, at least temporarily, their political differences over what they see as a larger national cause.

The CPI(M)-led Left parties have already called for a week-long nationwide protest from September 26 to October 2 and appealed to all non-BJP opposition parties, civil society organisations, and citizens to join the campaign.

Outreach to all Opposition parties

Baby’s letter also makes clear that the outreach extends beyond the INDIA bloc, as he wrote to parties including the AAP, DMK, BRS, BJD, and Tamil Nadu’s TVK, among others, seeking a common discussion on the controversy brought to focus by a recent media expose.

Mamata, according to sources, has separately urged Rahul Gandhi to convene an INDIA bloc meeting at the earliest. Convening an INDIA bloc meeting is only the first part of the emerging political effort, which seeks to bring the bloc’s parties closer and work towards the common goal of preventing “manipulation” of the electoral process.

Also Read: Gyanesh Kumar faces prosecution plea in SC, Congress demands his removal over SIR

The next moves would be to bring all non-BJP parties outside the INDIA bloc into the discussion, not necessarily to create an electoral alliance but to address an issue that concerns the credibility of the electoral process, TMC sources said.

Not just Opposition asking questions

Developments within the NDA have made the Opposition camp hopeful of creating a crack in the ruling alliance over the commission’s role in conducting elections.

On Friday, three BJP allies, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha, and the Telugu Desam Party asked the poll panel to clarify its position following reports that two election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had repeatedly raised objections to decisions concerning electoral rolls and the SIR.

Paswan, who is also a Union Minister, said that if questions were being raised about the commission's conduct, particularly that of the CEC, it was its responsibility to put its position firmly before the public. He said that if people began losing faith in the electoral system, it would not be good for democracy.

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Kushwaha also called for an immediate clarification, saying confusion among the public needed to be addressed.

TDP Lok Sabha floor leader Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu said transparency from the commission would strengthen public confidence in the institution.

For the Opposition, the statements are significant because questions over the functioning of the Commission are no longer confined to INDIA bloc parties.