The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has alleged that the central forces are intimidating voters in Bengal to favour the BJP in the upcoming bypolls.

They also complained to the Election Commission (EC) against Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar’s objectionable remarks directedat police.

Six Assembly seats in Bengal have bypolls onNovember 13.

Quoting the EC’s manual of force deployment that calls for the attachment of state police personnel with teams of central forces, Trinamool alleged: “It has been brought to our notice that CAPF personnel alone, without the presence of the state police, are engaging in various illegal activities at the behest of their political masters. They are entering private residences to intimidate voters and adversely influence them to cast their votes in favour of the BJP.”

In another memorandum, the TMC accused Majumdar of defamatory and inflammatory statements against the party and Bengal’s police. He was quoted saying at a rally in Taldangra on November 7: “Don’t act as an agent of Trinamool. Remove the Ashoka Stambh on your uniform and replace it with the symbol of a sandal.”

A party delegation, including its Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien, and MPs Kirti Azad, Saket Gokhale and Sushmita Dev, went to the EC on Saturday but could not meet officials as they did not get an appointment.

Azad told reporters: “There are five of us here and we are the third-largest party in Parliament with the leaders of both Houses. Still, they do not have the time to meet us. It shows that they are puppets of the central government.”

An EC source explained: “The party had emailed last night seeking an appointment without mentioning any reason or stating that it was urgent. They came unannounced on a Saturday and none of the election commissioners were available to meet them but their representations were duly received at the reception.”

In the 2021 Bengal Assembly polls, polling had to be deferred at a booth of Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar after the Central Industrial Security Force killed four people during an altercation on the polling day. The EC said they had fired in self-defence.