West Bengal Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar slammed the Election Commission, alleging connivance with the BJP. He also dismissed exit polls as propaganda. A BJP leader refuted the claims, while the SC is set to hear a TMC plea on vote counting.
Congress Accuses EC of ‘Connivance’ with BJP
West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar on Friday sharply criticised the Election Commission (EC), accusing the polling body of working with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that this has led to a “lack of faith” in the EC.
Speaking amid the strong room row, Sarkar claimed, “The connivance between the Election Commission and the BJP is clear. Everyone knows this. This is not fair. In fact, the Election Commission has destroyed trust in the election process. Therefore, people no longer have any faith in the Election Commission.” Sarkar also dismissed the exit polls, labelling them as a tool for “propaganda” designed to benefit the BJP, urging people to wait for official results on May 4. “The BJP has taken advantage of the exit polls. All exit polls are saying that the BJP is winning… This propaganda is helping the BJP… According to me, the voters in Bengal have a lot of courage; they have a lot of capability to make decisions. All political parties should wait for the final results,” he said.
BJP Alleges TMC Creating ‘Narrative’ Amid Fear of Defeat
On the other side, BJP candidate from Siliguri assembly constituency Shankar Ghosh on Friday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of creating a “narrative” in view of an impending defeat in the polls. “I think the CM is trying to make some kind of narrative. The allegations from TMC show that they are scared of the election defeat. So, they are only trying to mislead the people… I think this kind of statement from the state’s ruling party is quite natural, as everybody knows that TMC is going to be removed from power by the people…I think this kind of false allegation will not be able to save their faces, and the Election Commission is doing their best to protect everything,” he told ANI.
TMC Moves Supreme Court Over Vote Counting Supervisors
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday constituted a special bench to hear the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) plea tomorrow against the Calcutta High Court’s rejection of its plea that challenged the deployment of only Central government and PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) employees as supervisors for vote counting in the West Bengal assembly elections.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi to hear the plea at 10:30 AM tomorrow. TMC, in its plea, urged the Supreme Court to take up the matter urgently tomorrow, stating that vote counting in the poll-bound state is set to begin on Monday morning, and that any delay in hearing the plea would render it infructuous.
TMC approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court rejected their plea, upholding the validity of the decision requiring Central Govt/PSU employees to count as supervisors/assistants. HC, in its observations, held that such appointments are within ECI’s discretion and not illegal. The Court rejected apprehension that Central Govt. staff would act under political influence. Allegations were mere apprehensions without evidence. Any grievance can be raised via an election petition (Section 100, RP Act, 1951), the court observed. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)