On the day opposition parties marched to the Election Commission over alleged “vote theft” linked to the Statewide Integrated Register (SIR), senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Kalyan Banerjee was seen alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a government function in New Delhi.

Banerjee, a six-term MP from Serampore, attended Monday’s inauguration of a newly built parliamentarians’ housing complex on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, where Modi formally opened 184 flats. Eyewitnesses said Modi greeted Banerjee with a smile, asking, “Kya Kalyanji, Kalyan hai to?” (“Mr. Kalyan, are you well?”), to which the MP replied affirmatively. Modi repeated the question, and Banerjee again responded positively. During a group photograph, Modi asked for chairs on the stage to be removed so everyone could stand together, personally moving one of them. Banerjee joined him in shifting the chairs, and in the final photograph the TMC MP stood next to the Prime Minister. The event was also attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers Manohar Lal Khattar and Kiren Rijiju, among others.

Banerjee said he missed the opposition’s Election Commission protest because he was occupied with a Supreme Court case the TMC has filed over the SIR issue, and had informed party leader Mamata Banerjee in advance. As a member of the House Standing Committee, Banerjee had overseen interior furnishing for the new housing project’s final phase. The appearance comes eight days after Banerjee resigned as TMC’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, a move accepted by Mamata Banerjee last week. His presence next to Modi has triggered speculation within TMC circles, with some questioning whether it was intended to exert pressure on the party. Banerjee’s associates deny this, noting he has publicly expressed regret over earlier critical remarks about the TMC chief and spoke to her several times in recent days.

The optics of a senior TMC MP with Modi on a day the opposition staged a high-profile protest has added fresh fuel to political chatter in West Bengal.