Mamata Banerjee’s reported outreach to the CPI(M) has opened an unusual political channel in West Bengal, where the Trinamool Congress and the Left party have remained bitter rivals for decades. The Mamata CPI(M) outreach comes amid an escalating Opposition campaign over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and reports of disagreements within the poll panel.
Banerjee and CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby spoke over the phone on September 25 after the Left leader wrote to Opposition parties seeking a joint response to developments concerning the Election Commission. According to reports, the two leaders discussed the need for Opposition parties to work together on the issue. Banerjee also spoke to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and urged an early meeting of INDIA bloc parties.
The development has attracted attention because TMC and CPI(M) have historically been fierce opponents in Bengal. However, CPI(M) leader MA Baby has described the current initiative as issue-based and said it was too early to say whether it would lead to any wider political understanding.
Mamata CPI(M) outreach begins with the Election Commission row
The immediate reason for the Mamata CPI(M) outreach is the controversy surrounding the SIR exercise and concerns raised by Opposition parties about the functioning of the Election Commission.
The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on multiple occasions over decisions related to the SIR process. The Election Commission acknowledged the existence of the written notes but described them as part of its decision-making process.
Against this backdrop, Baby wrote to Banerjee and other Opposition leaders, calling for a meeting. Banerjee subsequently responded positively and spoke to Baby by phone.
The CPI(M) has sought broader Opposition participation rather than limiting the initiative to its own party or the INDIA bloc. Baby told The Federal that the Left was looking for the widest possible cooperation among non-NDA parties on the issue.
This explains why the present Mamata CPI(M) outreach is being viewed primarily through the lens of the Election Commission dispute rather than as a formal alliance announcement.
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Mamata-CPI(M) outreach revives an old political contradiction
The latest contact between the two parties is notable because TMC and CPI(M) have spent years attacking each other in Bengal politics. Mamata Banerjee built the TMC as the principal political force challenging the Left’s long rule in the state, eventually defeating the CPM-led Left Front in 2011.
The outreach between CPI(M) and the TMC is creating the fuss because the TMC took the help of the BJP to counter the very same Left Front government led by the CPI(M). The TMC-BJP alliance began shortly after Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 1998. Seeking to challenge West Bengal’s dominant Left Front, the TMC joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Between 1999 and 2006, the TMC remained a key NDA partner. Banerjee served as the Union Railway Minister and later the Coal and Mines Minister under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The parties TMC and BJP jointly contested the 1998, 1999, and 2004 Lok Sabha elections, alongside the 2006 state assembly polls. Following electoral setbacks, the TMC exited the NDA in 2006. The former allies later became fierce regional rivals
The political relationship remained adversarial with the CPI(M) after the TMC came to power. Even though both parties are part of the broader INDIA bloc at the national level, they have maintained separate political strategies in West Bengal.
The present Mamata CPI(M) outreach therefore represents a tactical convergence on a specific issue rather than confirmation of a new electoral alliance.
Political analyst Sumantra Bose, speaking to Open Magazine, argued that the SIR controversy and state-level electoral politics should be treated as separate questions. He said the developments concerning the Election Commission could provide grounds for cooperation between the two parties, while their interests in West Bengal remained substantially different.
Bose also described both the CPM and Congress as parties that have been trying to rebuild their organisational presence in Bengal. His comments are an assessment of the state’s political situation, rather than evidence of a formal arrangement between the parties.
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What the Mamata CPI(M) outreach means for the INDIA bloc
The immediate political test for the Mamata CPI(M) outreach is likely to be the wider Opposition meeting scheduled in Delhi on September 30. Banerjee and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee are expected to attend the meeting, which is set to discuss the Election Commission and SIR.
The CPI(M) has also reached out beyond the INDIA bloc. Baby said the Left had contacted several non-NDA parties as part of its effort to build a broader response to the Election Commission issue.
For Banerjee, the immediate focus remains opposition to the Election Commission’s actions and the SIR process. She has publicly criticised Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged large-scale deletions from electoral rolls, claims that remain part of the ongoing political dispute.
The BJP, meanwhile, has criticised Banerjee’s engagement with the CPI(M). West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh said the political circumstances had changed and accused Banerjee of seeking a larger role within the Opposition camp. Those remarks represent the BJP’s political interpretation of the development.
It is not yet clear whether the Mamata-CPI(M) outreach remains confined to the Election Commission issue or develops into broader coordination in Bengal. For now, the evidence points to communication and issue-based cooperation, rather than a declared electoral alliance.
The September 30 INDIA bloc meeting and subsequent protests are likely to provide a clearer indication of whether the current contact produces sustained coordination between the two long-time rivals.
