The Trinamool Congress’s student and youth wings have announced a protest march through central Kolkata on Tuesday, with the proposed route from Rajabazar to Park Circus expected to put pressure on traffic movement in some of the city’s busiest corridors ahead of Durga Puja. The march is scheduled to begin at 2 pm, although the party has not confirmed whether it has received police permission to hold the demonstration.
The rally has been called by the Mamata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress against the Centre and the Election Commission. It follows a demonstration held by the party in New Delhi a day earlier, where protesters raised demands including the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and objected to what the party described as police action against protesters.
Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said he would participate in the Kolkata march but was unsure whether Mamata Banerjee would join it because of her engagements in Delhi. Asked about permission for the programme, Ghosh said he was not certain that it had been secured and suggested that the party did not expect a positive response from the police.
The proposed route covers Rajabazar, CIT Road and the Park Circus area. These are high-movement urban stretches that carry local traffic, public transport and commercial activity, and are likely to see increased pedestrian and vehicle movement as the city prepares for the festival season. The timing is also significant because Kolkata is already experiencing larger crowds around Durga Puja pandal inaugurations.
The march is part of a wider political campaign by the TMC against the Centre and the Election Commission. The party has accused the Centre of attempting to suppress democratic expression and has demanded the resignation and arrest of Gyanesh Kumar, whom it has described as a “vote chor”. It has also said it will protest against the detention of Banerjee in Delhi and what it calls the repression of opposition leaders, including younger politicians.
TMC leaders and workers began mobilising support on Monday, contacting party cadres across Kolkata. Banerjee has appealed to members of the party’s student, youth, trade union and women’s wings to participate in the proposed demonstration.
The announcement drew a political response from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who commented on the choice of the rally’s location without elaborating on the specific concern. Adhikari also accused the opposition of aligning with what he called “Dimagi Naxals” and “anti-national forces”, while alleging a “deep state” conspiracy behind protests related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Those allegations were not independently established in the report.
The immediate civic issue is the management of movement along the proposed route. The source report did not provide details of traffic diversions, road closures, police deployment or an official permission order. It also remained unclear whether the march would proceed in its announced form. Any final traffic advisory or change to the route would therefore be important for commuters travelling through Rajabazar, CIT Road and Park Circus on Tuesday afternoon.
