West Bengal witnesses a day of significant political mobilisation on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taking her protest against electoral roll revisions to the northern district of Malda, while the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) stages a demonstration in Kolkata against the state government's policy reversal on the new Waqf law.
Mamata Banerjee Intensifies Anti-SIR Campaign in Malda
For the next two days, Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is leading a series of public rallies opposing the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Today, she will address a gathering at Gajol in Malda district, an area that shares a border with Bangladesh.
This marks the second phase of her concerted campaign against the SIR exercise. Last week, she held a similar rally in Bongaon within the Matua belt, a region with a significant refugee population. There, she alleged that the revision drive was being misused to intimidate families residing near the Bangladesh border. Her current focus on Malda and the neighbouring Murshidabad district underscores the political sensitivity of the border regions in the state's electoral dynamics.
AIMIM Protests TMC Government's Waqf Law U-Turn
Simultaneously, in state capital Kolkata, the AIMIM is organising a protest against the TMC government's decision to finally accept the new central Waqf law after months of resistance. The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 11 am near the Tipu Sultan Masjid in the Dharmatala area.
The protest will be led by Imran Solanki, the chief of AIMIM's Bengal unit. The trigger for this agitation is the West Bengal government's directive last week to upload details of approximately 82,000 waqf properties across the state onto a central portal by a December 5 deadline. This move follows the state's acceptance of the law, which was passed by Parliament in April this year.
This represents a stark reversal from Chief Minister Banerjee's earlier public stance, where she had announced that she would not allow the new Act to be implemented in West Bengal. The issue had previously sparked widespread protests in the state when the Narendra Modi-led Central government initially tabled the Bill. Adding to the political heat, Siddiquallah Chowdhury, a minister in Banerjee's government and president of the Jamia Ulema-e-Hind's West Bengal branch, warned on Tuesday that "Muslims will not stay quiet" if Waqf properties are taken away.
Other Key Developments in Bengal
Beyond these major protests, other important proceedings are scheduled for the day. The Calcutta High Court is set to hear a petition concerning the ongoing teacher recruitment exam conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission. The plea specifically seeks the allotment of an extra 10 marks to candidates who possess prior teaching experience.
In Kolkata's civic affairs, the Kolkata Police has kicked off a 120-day traffic diversion plan for a section of Picnic Garden Road. This extended closure is to facilitate essential sewer line work. The plan, structured in four phases, is expected to significantly impact the movement of buses, goods vehicles, auto-rickshaws, and other transport in the area.
The convergence of these events—from high-stakes political rallies on the state's periphery to contentious law-and-order protests in its heart—paints a picture of a politically charged day in West Bengal, highlighting ongoing tensions between the state government, the opposition, and central laws.
