Mamata Banerjee In Supreme Court: Decoding The Politics, Narrative & SIR Battle

Last Updated:February 04, 2026, 16:51 IST

The chief minister attempted to establish the narrative that she is personally battling in the Supreme Court to protect citizens’ voting rights

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with her nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee in New Delhi | Image: PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appearance in the Supreme Court was aimed at reinforcing a clear political message: that she is fighting for the common people, especially those allegedly affected by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls. By being physically present in Delhi and appearing before the country’s highest court, she sought to project herself as standing firmly on the people’s side.

Through this court appearance, Banerjee attempted to establish the narrative that she is personally battling in the Supreme Court to protect citizens’ voting rights, while the BJP is portraying her move as an attempt to shield infiltrators.

According to party insiders, no sitting chief minister has ever appeared in person before the Supreme Court to argue a case, and this itself is part of her political strategy. As the chief minister and chairperson of her party, she believes she understands the ground situation best and can present the matter more effectively than anyone else.

In her prayers before the court in the SIR case, Banerjee said the 2025 voter list must be used and any new experiments ahead of the 2026 assembly elections should be avoided. She also said voters should not be summoned for hearings over minor spelling errors and demanded that the list of 1.4 crore disputed voter names be made public. Apart from this, she sought the acceptance of Aadhaar as sufficient proof of identity in discrepancy cases, an end to alleged secret mass deletions of voters through bulk Form-7 submissions, and withdrawal of 8,100 external micro-observers from Bengal’s electoral process.

In her interlocutory application (IA), Banerjee also stated that she is fully aware of the rules and decorum of the Supreme Court.

The matter was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul Pancholi.

Addressing the Supreme Court, Banerjee argued that the Election Commission’s voter list exercise in Bengal is unfair, selective, and focused primarily on deleting names rather than including eligible voters. She said routine life changes—such as women changing surnames after marriage or people migrating for work—are being treated as discrepancies, leading to wrongful deletions.

Despite the court earlier allowing Aadhaar as a valid document, she alleged that the Election Commission is demanding multiple additional documents. Calling the process rushed and discriminatory, she claimed that Bengal is being specifically targeted and questioned why similar measures are not being taken in Assam.

She stressed repeatedly that Bengal is being singled out.

Political Messaging and Reactions

Party insiders told News18 that Banerjee has successfully established the narrative that she is the only chief minister who has fought for people’s rights—from the Election Commission to the Supreme Court. Over the past 48 hours, they claim, she has demonstrated to voters that their chief minister is personally fighting for them.

According to party sources, Banerjee’s courtroom presence and arguments have strengthened her party’s image. Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said, “Today is a historic day. See how Bengal’s Chief Minister fought for people’s rights. She is the only leader who consistently fights for the common people."

With elections approaching, party insiders believe Mamata Banerjee’s Delhi visit and Supreme Court appearance will be widely used in political campaigning.

BJP’s Counter-Narrative

The BJP, however, has projected Banerjee’s move as an attempt to protect infiltrators. BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “This clearly shows Mamata Banerjee is afraid. That is why she has gone to Delhi to do drama—nothing else."

BJP leaders have stepped up efforts to portray her court appearance as political theatre aimed at safeguarding infiltrators rather than protecting voters.

The narrative battle is now fully underway. Only time will tell who gains the upper hand.

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