BJP to challenge May 14 rural polls in Calcutta HC

Kolkata: The BJP is planning to move the Calcutta high court on Monday challenging the West Bengal state election commission’s announcement of May 14 as the fresh date for the panchayat elections after accepting the Mamata Banerjee government’s proposal of one-phase rural polls.

It will argue why the state poll panel trimmed the phases from three to one, according to sources.

In its first notification the WBSEC scheduled a three phase panchayat polls: May 1, 3 and 5 which was however junked by the Calcutta high court.

After attending the all-party meeting convened by the WBSEC on Saturday BJP leader and lawyer Pratap Banerjee alleged, “The outcome of the meeting is zero because the state poll panel does not have any plan about the total deployment of police personnel in the polls, force deployment including armed cops in every booth.”

He claimed, “The WBSEC only wanted to know our version. It is really strange that they do not have any plan. The Calcutta high court directed that a meaningful discussion has to be held. But there was no minute in the meeting. The state election commission wanted to hear what we say.”

Another BJP leader Joy Prakash Majumdar who accompanied Mr Banerjee alleged that the state poll panel looked cluelss to the volley of questions on the polls.

“A direction has been issued from the WBSEC to publish ballot papers. The state government forced it to do so. On the instructions of the ruling party arrangements have been made to publish the ballot papers by hiring private printers. The state election commissioner was forced to admit it. It is an absolute rigging. What will be the results?” he wondered. Mr Majumdar added, “They have made arrangements at every stage to ensure chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s declaration to win the polls 100 per cent. We will inform the court about these issues.”

CPI(M) leader Rabin Deb questionned the purpose of the meeting referring the gap of less than 21 days between the date of announcement of the polls and schedule of the polls.

Meanwhile, the Mamata Banerjee government has sent letters to five states: Assam, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and Punjab seeking them to dispatch their state police forces for the polls.

Each state has been requested to send four-five companies of police personnel for the poll duties a week before May 14.

Before sending the letters, top officials of the state government spoke to their counterparts also, sources revealed.

The move came a day after state director general of police Surajit Kar Purkayastha informed of contacting some neighbouring states for seeking their police personnel.

Sources revealed that the state poll panel will hold a meeting with him and additional director general (law and order) Anuj Sharma on Monday to discuss the security situation and forces’ deployment.