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TMC to move Election Commission over holding by-polls in West Bengal
By-polls in at least seven assembly constituencies, including Bhabanipur in south Kolkata from where the chief minister is expected to contest, are pending in West Bengal
A delegation of West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is likely to meet top Election Commission of India (ECI) officials this week to request them to hold by-polls in the state at the earliest. By-polls to at least seven assembly constituencies, including Bhabanipur in south Kolkata from where chief minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to contest, are pending.
Banerjee, who lost the March-April assembly polls to her protégé-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram, needs to be elected by November to continue as the chief minister as per constitutional requirement.
“A team of TMC parliamentarians, including Sudip Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, and Kalyan Banerjee among others, is likely to approach the ECI this week in this regard,” said a TMC leader on condition of anonymity.
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The TMC returned to power for the third consecutive term in May, but Banerjee lost to Suvendu Adhikari by a narrow margin.
Elections for two seats in Murshidabad were cancelled when the candidates died of Covid-19 in April. Later, two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliament members Nisith Pramanik and Jagannath Sarkar, who won the assembly polls, resigned. Two other TMC legislators died after contracting Covid-19. A third TMC lawmaker from Bhabanipur, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, resigned so that Banerjee could contest from the seat in the by-polls.
“By-elections should be held as early as possible. The Covid-19 situation is under control. If the third wave arrives, then you cannot do anything. A week’s time for election campaigning will be enough,” Banerjee said earlier this week.
The BJP hit out at TMC for seeking assembly by-polls while the ruling party has not held civic elections for over a year now. “Civic elections for over 100 civic bodies are pending. The ruling party has not even held college elections. It is very eager to hold the by-elections. Covid-19 cases are still being reported every day. The Madras high court made some observations and gave some directions on Covid-19 when assembly elections in (four) states and a Union Territory were being held. The Covid-19 situation has not changed a bit,” said Dilip Ghosh, BJP’s Bengal unit head.
TMC leader Saugata Roy questioned the BJP’s stand. “Why is the BJP so concerned about Covid-19? When assembly elections were held in eight phases in West Bengal and cases shot up alarmingly, the BJP did not say a word. Now the situation is under control and elections may be held.”
