West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday intensified her attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that a recent reshuffle of officers was a scripted move to reject the nomination papers of Opposition candidates.
Addressing an election rally at Nanoor in Birbhum district, Banerjee cautioned Trinamool Congress (TMC) party workers to be meticulous with their paperwork. “They have reshuffled officers and tasked the new appointees with rejecting nominations. Check your documents (before submitting your nomination),” she said.
Banerjee, who has been holding multiple rallies daily since launching her campaign last week, also welcomed a Supreme Court intervention regarding the electoral rolls. “I am happy with the Supreme Court’s verdict today. There were forceful attempts to add names of outsiders to Bengal’s electoral roll,” she said.
On Tuesday, the chief minister wrote to chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar alleging that large-scale last-minute attempts were being made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) BJP to enroll outsiders as voters of West Bengal.
On Wednesday, Derek O’Brien, TMC parliamentary leader in Rajya Sabha, and state minister Bratya Basu cited five cases in which outsiders were enrolled as voters.
“The EC is saying that it wants to hold free and fair elections. We have flagged some cases. The EC should act on these. Mamata Banerjee has written multiple letters to the CEC. Leave aside responding to those, the CEC hasn’t even acknowledged them,” O’Brien told the media.
The BJP hit back, contending the TMC was coming up with excuses to explain its defeat when the votes are counted.
“The TMC has been saying that they have caught voters of UP and Bihar red-handed in West Bengal. The TMC is not allowing individuals to submit Form 6. What action has the EC taken so far? If anything happens, the TMC and the EC will be held responsible,” BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said.
There was tension on Tuesday evening outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata over allegations that outsiders were being enrolled as voters. On Wednesday morning, the CEO’s office said in a post on X that the Beleghata municipal councillor and some hooligans gheraoed the CEO’s office late on Tuesday evening. “Such anti-social activities will not be tolerated, and the law will take its own course. ECI will leave no stone unturned to ensure free and fair assembly elections,” the CEO’s office said in a post on X .
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