Mamata accuses Stalin, Congress, and ECI of ‘tacit understanding’ with BJP

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday (April 6) alleged that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, the Congress party, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) share a “tacit understanding” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Addressing an election rally in Nakashipara (also reported as Bethuadahari), Nadia district, Mamata claimed that a large number of senior IAS and IPS officers from the West Bengal cadre have been transferred to Tamil Nadu as poll observers, severely hampering development and administrative work in her state during the crucial assembly election period.

“You (BJP) must be having some tacit understanding with the Congress and Stalin,” she said. “All officers from Bengal are being sent to Tamil Nadu. What is the secret understanding between the DMK, Congress, and the Election Commission? The Commission seems to have special intimacy with the southern state.”

‘500 officers transferred in WB’

Mamata further alleged that while five states are simultaneously going to the polls, the ECI has transferred around 500 officers in West Bengal, far more than in other poll-bound states. She claimed the Commission is placing officers favourable to the BJP in key positions in Bengal to allow “free movement” of BJP workers.

Also Read: Mamata hits back over Pakistan threat to Kolkata, seeks Modi's resignation

The remarks come just days after the ECI announced the schedule for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, which will be held in two phases on April 23 (152 seats) and April 29 (142 seats), with the results on May 4. The Model Code of Conduct is already in force.

Once-close allies, now public discord

Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin have long been seen as natural allies in the broader fight against the BJP. Both lead powerful regional parties, the TMC and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and have frequently spoken in one voice on issues of federalism, central overreach, and the role of central agencies.

Also Read: 'Avenge SIR deletion by voting': Mamata issues clarion call at Murshidabad poll rally

In 2022, Mamata made a high-profile visit to Chennai to meet Stalin, describing it as a meeting focused on development and cooperation between the two states. They have extended mutual support within the INDIA bloc, formed to challenge the BJP nationally, and have criticised the Centre on several occasions. However, underlying tensions within the opposition alliance have surfaced periodically. Speculation over the leadership of the INDIA bloc has occasionally pitted Mamata and Stalin as potential alternatives to the Congress. In recent months, some allies, including voices from Shiv Sena (UBT), have suggested that either Mamata or Stalin could play a larger national role, adding to quiet competition.

DMK slams Mamata's remarks

DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai rejected the allegations, asserting that the real political contest is between the DMK and the RSS-BJP. He said no party has opposed the BJP as consistently as the DMK under MK Stalin, stressing that “there is no compromise.” Calling the DMK the BJP’s primary ideological opponent, he added that Stalin remains one of the strongest critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

DMK leader TKS Elangovan told The Federal, “The Election Commission is transferring officers favourable to Mamata to various states. Some of them have been temporarily posted to Tamil Nadu. Did the DMK ask the Election Commission to appoint those officers here? What can the DMK do when the Election Commission itself has made these appointments? I see this as Mamata expressing her anger at the BJP.”

ECI’s neutrality questioned

Analysts say Monday’s outburst reflects immediate electoral compulsions in West Bengal. With polls imminent, Mamata appears frustrated by what she sees as disproportionate administrative disruption in her state compared to Tamil Nadu, where Stalin’s DMK is also contesting the elections on April 23. By directly naming Stalin and the Congress, she questioned the ECI’s neutrality and suggested preferential treatment for the southern state. The allegation has deepened apprehensions about cohesion in the INDIA bloc ahead of simultaneous elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.

Also Read: Mamata targets BJP, EC after judicial officers gheraoed during Malda over SIR

This is not the first time Mamata has publicly questioned the ECI’s decisions. In the run-up to the polls, she has also raised concerns over large-scale transfers of police station officers and deployment of central forces. As the campaign intensifies in the remaining days before the first phase of voting, Mamata’s remarks are likely to dominate the political discourse in both West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, testing the resilience of the already-fragile opposition unity. The INDIA bloc partners will now have to navigate this fresh controversy while battling the BJP on the ground in multiple states.