ALLEGING rampant rigging in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections held Wednesday, Opposition parties said both the Trinamool Congress and the Election Commission had “miserably” failed to conduct free and fair elections in the state. While Bolpur CPM candidate Ramchandra Dom demanded re-election in 80 per cent of booths in his constituency, BJP demanded re-polling in all the nine seats of the state. “The Election Commission has miserably failed in conducting a fair and free elections in the state if this continues then we will have to think whether to continue to participate in elections,’’Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Pradesh Congress Committee president, told The Indian Express. Adhir alleged the Trinamool Congress resorted to massive rigging because they knew they would fare badly in the first two phases and could not take chances this time. “In Ketugram, Burdwan, Hooghly and Birbhum votes were looted and the EC remained mute spectators. In fact, its (EC) orders did not percolate down to the grassroots level,’’ Chowdhury told The Indian Express. Congress leader and former PCC chief Pradip Bhattacharya also accused the EC of being inactive and timid. “They (EC) were coward and the DMs and SPs had become TMC stooges. The CRPF was also nowhere to be seen,” Bhattacharya said. The Congress has also written a to the state Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta, requesting him to see that the EC take proactive steps and ensure free and fair election in the next two phases. Meanwhile, state BJP general secretary Ashim Sarker demanded re-election in all nine seats. “What happened today was absolute farce and we suspect the Commission was hand-in-glove with the TMC. We demand re-election in all the nine seats,’’ Sarker said. Speaking on the “massive electoral malpractices”, Sarker said: “In 2,300 booths, we could not field any agent because of intimidation and coercion. Our Howrah candidate George Baker along with his election agent Tushar Das was beaten up by TMC goons.’’ The CPM, too, accused the EC of inactiveness and demanded repolling in five per cent of the booths of all constituencies. The party also slammed the statement of Special Election Observer Sudhir Kumar Rakeshwho said the polls were free and fair. “The elections were held in a semi-fascist situation today. The ruling party resorted to rampant rigging and booth capturing, particularly in Arambagh and Burdwan,” CPM politburo member Surjya Kanta Mishra alleged.
