Minutes after Calcutta High Court’s ruling, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari said he would file a caveat at the Supreme Court to prevent Trinamul from moving against Tuesday’s verdict.

Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, was one of the petitioners in the high court, demanding alteration of the poll schedule so that there were more days made available to file nominations and deployment of central forces for the panchayat polls.

While the court did not interfere with the poll schedule, it did rule in favour of central forces, at least in the seven districts labelled sensitive by the state poll panel.

“The honourable division bench could not supersede the (West Bengal Panchayat Elections) Act…. It has its limitations. The bench has respected the Act and tried to ensure free and fair polls, where everyone can participate and there is no death, violence or rigging and other possible forms of malpractice,” said Adhikari.

Refusing to interfere in the election process, the high court said the commission is an expert on such matters and left the extension of deadline for filing nominations, or moving them online, and appointment of more observers to the discretion of the state poll panel.

On the deployment of central forces, the court said the commission would assess the situation and deploy central forces in areas not declared sensitive, but should immediately requisition central forces for areas (seven districts) it declared sensitive.

“The high court has practically expressed no confidence in the state police. I welcome this verdict,” said Adhikari.

“My first job will be to immediately file a caveat in the Supreme Court, because Mamata Banerjee and her nephew (Abhishek Banerjee) might move against the high court ruling at the earliest,” he added.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha and one of the petitioners, feared the state poll commission would attempt to misuse the order.

“The most important thing is that the high court has taken cognisance of our allegations,” said the Behrampore MP.

“We wanted central forces for the whole state. That was not granted. The state election commission will try to misuse this order,” he added, referring to the onus on the poll panel to assess the situation to deploy central forces in areas not declared sensitive.

“But the silver lining is that at least some districts will be under the surveillance of the central forces. This proves the high court does not have faith in the state police,” he said.

In a virtual echo, CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said: “One thing is clear, the court does not believe that the state police could be used for the conduct of free polls.... It has made it clear that central forces will have to be used for the security of the masses.”

“The court has asked the commission to identify sensitive areas and have central forces deputed there. We have always said the same thing. Provided the supposedly autonomous poll commission retains its autonomy,” he added.

In public, Trinamul rejected the wider opinion that it was a setback for the ruling establishment, although some seniors admitted to it in private.

Trinamul’s Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee, who appeared as one of the advocates in the case at the high court, said it was largely a rejection of Adhikari’s petition, as the court refused to set aside the notified election process or change the dates of nomination filing.

A senior Trinamul MP said instructions had come from “the very top” against reacting adversely in public to Tuesday’s ruling, and the likelihood of approaching the Supreme Court was “very high”.

“We know very well that the deployment of central forces will not negatively impact the results for us. We have passed many a central force test with flying colours, the latest, most glorious example being the 2021 Assembly election,” he said, adding that Trinamul leader Abhishek Banerjee was likely to issue the party’s formal reaction.