Another Bengal poll candidate dies of Covid

Kajal Sinha was undergoing treatment at Beleghata I.D and B.G Hospital ever since he tested positive for Covid. He passed away at 9.45 am today after being on ventilator for three days.

Election Commission, West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021, election, TMC candidate, Khardah Assembly seat, Nandita Sinha, Kajal Sinha, indian express

TMC candidate Kajal Sinha and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (IE Bangla)

Another West Bengal Assembly poll candidate died of Covid-19 on Sunday — the fourth in the past month — as the state logged a record 15,889 new virus cases and 57 deaths in a 24-hour period.

TMC’s Khardaha candidate Kajal Sinha (59) was undergoing treatment at Beleghata ID and BG Hospital, and died after being on ventilator for three days. Khardaha in North 24 Parganas district voted in the sixth phase on April 22.

“Very, very sad. Shocked. Kajal Sinha, our candidate from Khardaha, succumbed to Covid. He dedicated his life to serving people & just fought a tireless campaign. He was a long-serving, committed member of @AITCofficial. We will miss him. My condolences to his family & his admirers,” tweeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Story continues below this ad

Before Sinha, Revolutionary Socialist Party’s Jangipur candidate Pradip Nandy and Congress’s Shamshergunj candidate Rezaul Haque and TMC’s Murarai nominee Abdur Rahman had died of the virus.

The chief electoral officer’s (CEO) office on Sunday revoked permission for 359 political programmes after total 76 FIRs were registered against political parties and leaders for violating the Election Commission’s April 22 ban on gatherings exceeding 500 people.

According to sources, 114 of show-cause notices have so far been issued and 76 FIRs lodged for non-compliance of Covid guidelines. Covid guidelines in Hindi, English and Bengali will be pasted at every polling booth on Monday.

Sweety Kumari

Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More