Tensions escalated sharply between the Election Commission of India and the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday after the poll panel invited only a five-member TMC delegation for a November 28 meeting in New Delhi to discuss the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Rejecting the restriction outright, TMC responded by naming a ten-member team of parliamentarians and insisted the discussion be conducted transparently through live telecast.

In a pointed letter to the Election Commission, TMC Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien listed ten MPs — including Kalyan Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Sajda Ahmed, and others — who will attend the meeting irrespective of the imposed limit. Senior party sources confirmed that the delegation would arrive in full strength, asserting that the Commission has no authority to curtail the number of elected representatives seeking answers on the controversial deletion of nearly 14 lakh voters.

The Election Commission had justified the five-member cap by citing O’Brien’s original request for “a delegation of party MPs” and its standard protocol for constructive dialogue. The panel scheduled the interaction for 11 am on Friday and maintained that it remains open to regular engagement with political parties. However, TMC leaders accused the EC of attempting to restrict scrutiny and evade public accountability on an exercise they claim disproportionately targets minority and underprivileged communities.

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National general secretary Abhishek Banerjee intensified the confrontation, challenging the Commission directly on social media: “If ECI is genuinely transparent, why is it scared to face just 10 MPs? Hold the meeting openly. Telecast it live and answer the five straightforward, legitimate questions of TMC.” The party has prepared a detailed questionnaire focusing on the methodology, scale, and alleged bias in declaring forms “uncollectable.”

With both sides refusing to budge, the November 28 meeting now looms as a high-stakes public showdown. The outcome could either defuse one of the fiercest confrontations between the Election Commission and a ruling state party in recent years or escalate into a broader political and legal battle over electoral integrity in West Bengal ahead of future polls.

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