Election Commission gets plea for re-poll in West Bengal

Playing victim, especially at the hands of Trinamool Congress in the just-concluded elections, the BJP on Monday demanded re-polling in several constituencies of West Bengal.

A BJP team led by Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Railway minister Piyush Goyal made a representation before the Election Commission and appealed for a re-poll on all such seats.

Goyal said that they have met the Election Commissioners and informed them about the violence that had taken place in all the seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls and requested for re-polling in all the violence affected constituencies.

He also stressed that the party has demanded from Commission to withdraw all false cases planted against BJP leaders in West Bengal.

Goyal pointed out that they have informed the Commission specifically about West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s threat to people of the state that she will deal with them after the polls.

The minister claimed that they have a strong apprehension of violence in West Bengal once the counting is over. We have approached the Commission to ensure that the central forces continue to be stationed in the state till the Model Code of Conduct is over, Goyal said.

The Commission should ensure that the counting process remains free and fair and they have requested the observers and special observers to be present in the counting booths in the states of Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

Cases of large-scale violence were reported from many parliamentary constituencies across Bengal in the seventh phase. While there were reports of blasts at Raidighi under the Mathurapur Lok Sabha seat, polling was also delayed in many polling booths due to skirmishes between BJP and Trinamool Congress workers.

BENGAL CLASHES

Cases of large-scale violence were reported from many parliamentary constituencies across Bengal in the seventh phase. There were also reports of blasts in few constituencies