West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday walked out of a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bengal’s electoral rolls, alleging that the Election Commission (EC) had “humiliated and insulted” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation and was acting as the BJP’s “dalal (agent)”. Draped in black, Banerjee exited the meeting at Nirvachan Sadan amid heavy police deployment and later told reporters that she had warned the CEC that he could “end up like Jagdeep Dhankhar”, a remark widely seen as a reference to the former Vice-President’s sudden resignation last year. “I respect the chair of the election commissioner, but this person is a danger to democracy,” the CM said.

According to news reports, the full bench — comprising the CEC and two election commissioners — heard Banerjee’s concerns patiently and offered explanations. However, the sources alleged that the CM “raised false allegations, misbehaved with officials, thumped the table and walked out in a huff”. Those present at the meeting said tensions escalated when the EC asked Banerjee to explain the basis of her allegations. “Why should we listen to them?” she was reportedly asked, to which the CM responded: “If we are not heard, what is the point of this meeting?” Banerjee’s key demands included scrapping hearings for around 1.5 crore voters flagged for “logical discrepancies” under SIR and holding the EC accountable for deaths allegedly linked to the revision exercise.

EC officials also flagged what they described as repeated “abusive and threatening” language used by TMC MLAs against election officials, along with incidents of vandalism at EC offices by party workers. Meanwhile, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee submitted a five-page memorandum to the EC, outlining three core concerns: alleged coercive hearings over “logical discrepancies”, the “weaponisation” of Form 7 for mass deletion of voter names, and the alleged singling out of Bengal through what the party termed “extra-legal” appointment of micro-observers.

The confrontation has sharpened the standoff between the Bengal government and the Election Commission ahead of key electoral exercises in the state.