CEC Gyanesh Kumar faces black flags during Kalighat Temple visit in Kolkata amid TMC’s SIR protests

Kumar, who is at the centre of the ruling party's fury over SIR, arrived in Kolkata with the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday night.

Upon his arrival at the airport, TMC workers raised black flags and slogans. On Monday morning, large numbers of party supporters gathered outside the Kalighat temple during Kumar’s visit.

Police beefed up security on both occasions and ensured Kumar’s safety.

“I greet all brothers and sisters of West Bengal. I pray Maa Kali blesses all,” Kumar said while walking out of the temple.

In a packed schedule, the CEC is set to hold an all-party meeting on Monday amid allegations from opposition parties regarding the “hurried” SIR process.

Later in the day, he will meet enforcement agencies and senior administrative officials to review poll preparedness in the state, which is expected to go to elections in April–May.

Kumar’s visit coincides with the TMC intensifying protests against the ECI, with party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee holding a dharna (sit-in protest) in downtown Kolkata since last Friday. Banerjee has alleged that genuine voters’ names have been deleted from the electoral roll.

Though the final SIR list was published on February 28, around 60 lakh voters’ names are still under adjudication. As of that date, approximately 63 lakh voters’ names had been deleted from the electoral roll through the revision drive.

Amid the ongoing tussle between the ECI and the state government, the Supreme Court of India has asked judicial officers from the Calcutta High Court as well as from Odisha and Jharkhand to verify the details of the adjudicated voters.

Questions have been raised over whether elections will be held in the state on time, as analysts say the verification of 60 lakh adjudicated voters could require a timeframe exceeding the days left before the poll announcement.

Any delay could trigger a constitutional crisis since the assembly elections must be concluded by May 7, 2026, failing which President's rule may have to be imposed as per constitutional provisions.

In the meantime, C. V. Ananda Bose’s sudden resignation as the state governor and the announcement of former bureaucrat R. N. Ravi as his successor has fuelled further speculation.

The debate over President’s Rule also echoed in Banerjee’s remarks at the protest site.

“Do you want to impose the President’s Rule? Do it. At least I will get a break and then come back,” Banerjee, who opposed Bose's sudden exit, thundered from the dharna stage.