Mamata Banerjee “temporarily” called-off her dharna at the Metro channel on Tuesday evening and headed off to meet the former Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on the eve of his departure from Calcutta.

“The door that was firmly shut has opened a little,” Mamata told the assembled party MPs, MLAs and other leaders, referring to Tuesday morning’s directive from the Supreme Court.

Before the chief minister held the microphone, the party general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee requested her to call off the dharna which had been on since Friday afternoon.

“Didi, the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of your demand. This is your victory. You have to stay well and reach to every voter. I would request you to end the dharna. Gyanesh Kumar has fled. We have to decimate them in 80,000 booths across the state,” Abhishek said from the dais.

Mamata had started her sit-in demonstration at the Metro channel in protest of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The final list published by the Election Commission (EC) on February 28 put the total number of electors in Bengal at 6.44 crores with an additional 60-plus lakh voters marked for adjudication.

During a hearing on a bunch of PILs, including one filed by Mamata, the apex court informed that 10.16 lakh voters marked adjudicated have been dealt with.

The question of whether the exercise will be completed before the poll dates are announced or the polls begin remains unanswered.

The apex court made it clear that the EC will have to publish supplementary lists.

On Tuesday morning, a bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices R. Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi said the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court can form a bench of former Chief Justices and high court Judges to deal with appeals and asked the EC to set up an appellate body for the hearings.

Mamata reminded her followers that the matter was still pending before the apex court.

“The next hearing is scheduled for March 25. If the poll dates are announced by March 15 or 16, the matter will continue to remain in the court. We will keep a watch,” she said. “Even if the poll dates are announced do not worry about the voter list. They have said even on the day before the election any voter can approach them to include their name in the voter list.”

Before stepping down from the dais, Mamata said: “Our governor was here for a long time. He is staying at Soujanya (in Alipore area). He is leaving on Wednesday. A great injustice has been done to the former governor, as he was removed. I am going to pay a courtesy call to him.”

Later, Mamata met Bose at a state guest house here and said his removal from the Lok Bhavan before completing his tenure was "an injustice" and "politically motivated".

It was the first meeting between Banerjee and Bose after he tendered his resignation on March 5, ahead of the Assembly elections likely to be held in April. He is scheduled to leave the state on Wednesday.

"Since he will be leaving tomorrow and also because I have worked with him for a considerable time, we have had a very good relationship. I have come here to meet him. I know his family. I wish him good health," Banerjee told reporters after meeting the former governor.