West Bengal Panchayat Elections 2018: SC reserves order on BJP’s petition against TMC govt

In its plea, the BJP had sought an extension of the last date of nomination, which is April 9, and online availability of nomination papers. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said the party was forced to approach the top court since the lawyers in Calcutta High Court have been observing a strike since February 19. While referring to the alleged violence unleashed by TMC cadres, Rohatgi said West Bengal was turning into a “trouble state”.

However, senior lawyer A M Singhvi who appeared for the state, refuted the above claims and accused the saffron party of “fomenting trouble” in Bengal. The advocate alleged that the BJP was creating tension only to seek the attention of the Centre, as the party has “no presence in West Bengal”.

The BJP had also approached the court, demanding deployment of CRPF personnel during the panchayat elections. The state Congress, on the other hand, submitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to the Calcutta High Court and sought extension of the polls.

On Wednesday, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh emphasised on the need for paramilitary forces to ensure polling was conducted peacefully. “To ensure free and fair rural polls, central forces are required. We will move the Supreme Court on Thursday to file a petition in this regard. We will plead before the apex court to ask the state election commission to request for central forces. We will plead for the deployment of central forces in the entire poll process. from nomination to polling days,” he said.

While a group of BJP workers, led by Mukul Roy, staged a protest outside the office of West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) and demanded for the same, a delegation later met the state election commissioner in this regard.

Governor Keshari Nath Tripath held a meeting with state election commissioner (SEC) A K Singh and “asked him to ensure that Opposition candidates are allowed to file their nomination papers for the upcoming panchayat elections”.

However, refuting BJP’s claims, ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma told reporters that the nomination process was going on smoothly in the state and there was no need of central forces to conduct the polls. “About 1,614 TMC candidates have filed their nominations in gram panchayats while 1,692 candidates belonging to other parties have filed their nominations. We have already directed all superintendents of police to complete the nomination process peacefully. The state police is sufficient to conduct the elections freely and peacefully. We are sending extra police personnel,” Sharma said.

While polling will take place on May 1, 3 and 5, the counting of votes has been scheduled for May 8.