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Row in Bengal after BJP candidate’s affidavit shows conviction in NDPS case
BJP candidate from Barasat in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, Swapan Majumdar, said he was convicted by a lower court but later the case was dismissed by the high court
A political row has erupted in West Bengal after a complaint was lodged with the Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging that Swapan Majumdar, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate from Barasat in North 24 Parganas district, was convicted by a court in Assam in 2018 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Majumder is the BJP’s sitting legislator from Bongaon South and has been fielded as the Lok Sabha candidate from Basarat constituency. In the 2021 assembly elections he defeated Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Alo Rani Sarkar by around 2,000 votes.
According to a complaint lodged with the poll panel on Thursday by Utpala Biswas, who claims to be a BJP worker from Barasat, Majumdar had mentioned in his affidavit in 2021 that he was convicted in the NDPS Act.
“I am a BJP worker. But that doesn’t mean that I will close my eyes even after seeing that something wrong is happening? The candidate should be changed. Candidates are often changed. It has happened earlier too,” Biswas told reporters.
Majumder’s affidavit, which he submitted during the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls, reveals that he was convicted under a NDPS case (case number 105/2017 of Guwahati GRP) by the Kamrup (metro) court for possessing two packets of suspected morphine.
Poll panel officials in Kolkata refused to comment on the developments.
Majumder also stated in his affidavit (HT has seen the affidavit) that he was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of ₹1 lakh. He also stated that he wasn’t disqualified by the commission.
“I was convicted by a lower court. Later the Guwahati high court dismissed the case. I have the judgement copy,” Majumder told HT.
He told media persons that the TMC is behind this and Biswas filed the complaint on the TMC’s orders in lieu of money. Posters have also come up against Majumder and some BJP workers also went on social media to voice their objections against Majumder.
“When Majumder contested the West Bengal assembly polls in 2021 he never suppressed the fact. Multiple allegations surface against political leaders and workers. Whether those are true or false will be decided by the court. Knowing everything, the people of Bongaon south elected him. The BJP is a national party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted a policy of zero tolerance to corruption. People will give a reply. The high court stayed the conviction and there are no legal hassles to contest the election. Else, how could he have contested the assembly elections and become an MLA?” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP’s chief spokesperson in West Bengal.
However, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told media persons, “Majumder, the BJP’s candidate, was arrested for smuggling drugs. He was even convicted and sentenced to 10 years (in prison). BJP workers may have objections regarding this and have informed the ECI. The people of Barasat will wipe off the BJP. The people of Bengal are seeing that they have given ticket to a person convicted in a NDPS case,”
The polling is scheduled to be held in Barasat in the last phase on June 1. The process of filing nomination starts from April 29.
