The BJP has said it will present the party’s 57 nominees for the panchayat elections in Calcutta High Court on Thursday as those prospective candidates in the Basirhat subdivision of North 24-Parganas were allegedly prevented from filing their papers for the contest.
Alleging that the state election commission has failed to redress the grievances of those nominees, the BJP said they would move the court to seek justice.
“We have decided to file a petition before the bench of the honourable chief justice of Calcutta High Court. For these people who want to participate in democracy, we will take the legal path,” state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said.
He said the party was preparing a list of names of candidates who had failed to file their nominations to hand it over to the commission.
“The commissioner said he would act upon it,” he said.
According to the commission’s notification, Thursday is the last day for filing nominations.
Although the saffron camp has alleged that the filing of nominations was being prevented by Trinamul goons, it had filed 37,565 of the total 93,425 nominations filed till Tuesday, more than any other party. Trinamul had filed only 9,328.
The 57 nominees are mostly residents of the Sandeshkhali 1 and 2, and Minakhan 1 and 2 blocks in Basirhat.
On Wednesday morning, Majumdar and other BJP leaders led these candidates to meet the subdivision officer of Basirhat urging him to receive their nomination papers. Majumdar alleged that these people were facing violent resistance from the Trinamul goons preventing them from filing nominations at their respective block offices.
However, sources said that the SDO expressed his inability to allow the candidates to file their nominations at his office since that has not been mandated by the State Election Commission. Following this, the BJP decided to take the protest to the state election commissioner Rajiva Sinha directly and all of the 57 candidates were ferried on a bus to Calcutta.
Even before Majumdar and these candidates reached the state poll panel’s office at Sarojini Naidu Sarani,leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had reached the site.
He met Sinha and handed over a deputation, in which he alleged that Trinamul cadres were “physically preventing” BJP candidates from filing nominations at Sandeshkhali 1 and 2, Minakhan 1 and 2, Budge Budge 1 and 2, Falta, Ketugram 1, Canning 1 and 2, Bhangar, Labhpur, Nanoor, and Suri 2 blocks.
“Opposition parties are facing resistance from Trinamul goons in over 50 blocks in the state and this commissioner has not even set up a proper grievance redressal cell. He is acting like Mamata Banerjee’s pet. Let me tell Trinamul that 2023 will not be 2018. BJP will put up a fight anywhere they face resistance,” Adhikari said.
“I urge candidates of all Opposition parties or even independent nominees who have not been able to file their nominations to come to the Sarojini Naidu Sarani office and seek redressal,” he said.
Shortly after, Majumdar reached the office with the 57 candidates. He tried to enter the poll panel’s office with all the candidates but was stopped by the police. Later, five of the candidates, along with Majumdar, were allowed to meet Sinha.
According to Majumdar’s statement to the journalists, Sinha has not yet sent any requisition to the Union government seeking the deployment of central forces because the commission is yet to identify the sensitive areas.
A Calcutta High Court order on Tuesday has directed the poll panel to immediately deploy central forces at the sensitive districts or areas in the state.
“It is strange that the commissioner has not yet been able to identify the sensitive spots...In fact, the state panchayat act has a provision that the candidates can file their nominations at the subdivisional office or the poll panel’s office if not at their respective blocks. He is not ready to act upon that either,” Majumdar alleged.
Additional SEC
Sanjay Bansal, a 2004-batch IAS officer, has been attached to the state election commission to assist the panel in conducting the rural polls.
