The national capital witnessed a high-voltage showdown as a four-member delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs clashed with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at the Election Commission headquarters. The meeting, intended to address the deletion of nearly 91 lakh voters and alleged partiality of poll officials, ended abruptly in chaos.

TMC leader Derek O’Brien alleged that within seven minutes, the CEC ordered the MPs to leave the office. “We brought nine letters from a Chief Minister that were ignored. When we presented six pieces of evidence showing poll officials with BJP workers, we were told to get out,” O’Brien stated, challenging the commission to release the meeting’s video or audio footage.

Countering these claims, EC sources alleged that Derek O’Brien lost his cool and shouted at the CEC, even asking him to stop talking. The Commission reportedly sent a firm message that the upcoming Bengal elections would be “free from violence, intimidation, and booth jamming.” TMC dismissed this as a fabrication, calling the CEC “Vanish Kumar” and accusing him of acting against democratic norms. The standoff marks a new low in the relationship between the Bengal’s ruling party and the polling watchdog.