A Trinamool Congress protest march planned from Rajabazar to Park Circus in Kolkata on Tuesday is expected to put additional pressure on traffic management as the city prepares for Durga Puja crowds, with the party saying the demonstration will begin at 2 pm.
The march has been organised by the student and youth wings of the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the party against the Centre and the Election Commission. TMC leaders have listed the demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, opposition to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the alleged detention of party leader Mamata Banerjee in Delhi among the reasons for the protest.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said he would join the march, but added that he did not know whether Banerjee would be able to attend because of her engagements in Delhi. He also said he was unsure whether the party had obtained police permission, adding that it would be safe to presume that the demonstration would not receive a green signal from the police.
The proposed route covers Rajabazar, CIT Road and Park Circus, areas that carry significant vehicular movement and local activity. The timing coincides with the run-up to Durga Puja, when pandal inaugurations and festival-related travel are increasing across Kolkata. The route and size of the gathering could therefore affect traffic movement beyond the immediate protest area.
The march follows a demonstration staged by the party in New Delhi a day earlier. TMC leaders have accused the Centre and the Election Commission of suppressing democratic voices and have demanded the resignation and arrest of Kumar. The party has also appealed to its student, youth, trade union and women’s wings to participate, while workers began mobilising support across the city on Monday.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari criticised the proposed location of the march and alleged that the opposition was joining hands with what he called anti-national forces. He also referred to a conspiracy linked to protests over the revision of electoral rolls. The report did not provide details of any police order, traffic advisory or restrictions issued for Tuesday’s event.
Adhikari is scheduled to inaugurate several Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata on the same day. With political activity and festival gatherings planned across the city, traffic management agencies will have to account for overlapping crowds and movement around the Rajabazar–Park Circus corridor. The party’s march is scheduled to start at 2 pm, while the final police position on permission was not clear in the report.
