Mamata ends SIR stir, says game is not yet over

Mamata Banerjee ends her protest but vows to continue fighting for voter rights amid allegations against the Election Commission.

Four days after she sat on a sit-in demonstration in Kolkata protesting the deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ended her dharna on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) with a promise to continue the fight till every voter was assured of their right to vote. 

Ms. Banerjee cited the developments in the Supreme Court earlier on Tuesday (March 10, 2026), when the court suggested setting up a special tribunal to hear appeals from the objections phase as a positive outcome of her protest.  

“Even if they [the Election Commission of India or EC] declare the elections on March 15-16, the game will not end there. The game will continue in the Supreme Court,” Ms. Banerjee said, from the stage set up for the dharna, before ending her sit-in demonstration on its fifth day. 

“Our dharna was for two reasons — one was for the people who were wrongfully deleted from the voter lists, and to bring justice for the people who were placed under adjudication and ensure they get back their voter rights,” she said.  

Her dharna was also against the interference of the EC in the work of judicial officers who were working to resolve the cases under adjudication, she said. 

During the five-day protest, Ms. Banerjee and her party aides targeted the EC. The Commission was working as an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to snatch voting rights away from people of the State, Ms. Banerjee said.