Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has invited Mamata Banerjee to merge the TMC with Congress, offering her state leadership. The offer comes as Banerjee attacks the Election Commission, alleging EVM hacking in the recent West Bengal polls.

Chowdhury's Merger Proposal to Mamata

In a bid to reshape West Bengal's political landscape, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday invited TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to merge her party with the Congress and rejoin its ranks. Speaking in Murshidabad, the former West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) chief suggested that rather than navigating complex political manoeuvres, Banerjee should unite her remaining lawmakers under the Congress fold, offering to accept her leadership within the state unit if she makes the move.

"I would like to offer a suggestion to Mamata Banerjee, and also urge our High Command, that she should simply join the Congress party directly. Instead of engaging in other manoeuvres, why not bring all her remaining MPs and MLAs and merge into the Congress? If she joins the Congress and becomes a leader within the party, we would be willing to fight alongside her, following her lead," said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Chowdhury's pitch comes at a time of major churn for the TMC after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, which triggered a reshuffle across its legislative and parliamentary ranks. The proposal carries historic weight. Mamata Banerjee broke away from the Congress in 1998 to form the Trinamool Congress. Chowdhury's invite asks her to complete the circle 28 years later by merging her party back into its parent organisation.

Chowdhury, long one of Banerjee's sharpest critics in Bengal politics, said state Congress leaders would be willing to work under her leadership locally if she drops the TMC banner and merges her remaining cadre.

Mamata Alleges Poll Malpractice, Attacks EC

The remarks came following Mamata Banerjee’s attack on the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying CCTV footage of voting in every constituency in West Bengal polls should be preserved and alleging that the CEC “worked to deprive people of their rights”.

Earlier on Thursday, Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a press conference here, alleged that “EVMs were hacked” during the Bengal polls, which Trinamool Congress lost. The BJP formed its first government in Bengal after assembly polls earlier this year.

She said a “storm is coming” and “people will give them a fitting reply”. “We were leading by 53,000 votes. We were beaten up, and the CRPF blocked the gate so we couldn't enter. They assaulted our agents and drove them all away. They blocked the CCTV cameras. Where is the CCTV footage? We want the CCTV footage from every constituency to remain intact. They locked and blocked the CCTV. They hacked the EVMs...After the second or third round, they effectively took control of the counting process...A storm is coming; the people will give them a fitting reply,” Banerjee said.

She was accompanied by party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee referred to the SIR process in West Bengal and said the party had approached the Supreme Court with its grievances."

'Worked to Deprive People of Their Rights'

There is currently talk about 'Vanish Kumar', the person who is the present in-charge, the one responsible for safeguarding the public's citizenship and voting rights...He is the one who worked to deprive people of their rights. How can we forgive him?... I represent the people of India,” Banerjee said.

“ We spoke up back then about how the Election Commission centralised the EVM machines, the counting, and the election process, effectively capturing the entire system. We even approached the courts, but we received no justice. We visited the Election Commission's office with 100 victims, and they treated us with great disrespect," she added.

Banerjee also attacked the statutory protection available to the Chief Election Commissioner. Referring to the SIR process, she said EROs have been left “with no authority”. She alleged that the exercise is designed to benefit the BJP.

Questions Over EVMs, Central Forces

Banerjee referred to the fire at a government building in Kolkata's Alipore area in June in which EVMs were destroyed. Kolkata Police constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident. Banerjee raised questions over the incident and linked it to her concerns over the election process.

She also questioned the deployment of “large central forces” during the West Bengal Assembly elections and alleged that the security apparatus was used to influence the electoral process. Banerjee said her party had raised its concerns before and during the elections but alleged that its complaints were not acted upon.

“Is this a mockery of democracy? What a scandalous joke this is. You cannot treat people like this,” she said. The TMC chief also alleged that the SIR process had affected people who were otherwise eligible to remain on the electoral rolls.

Mamata Banerjee held the press conference a day after a meeting of the INDIA bloc, which strongly demanded the removal of Gyanesh Kumar from his post. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)