Following the chaos that erupted during the polling in Nandigram on Thursday, a BJP delegation led by Shishir Bajoria met with the Election Commission on Friday morning and expressed their strong protest against TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s actions.
Bajoria accused the West Bengal chief minister of disrupting the polling in Nandigram and stated that another delegation will approach the central election commission in New Delhi as well.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Shishir Bajoria said that BJP did not approach the Election Commission yesterday as it did not want to exert ‘additional pressure’ on the election body. Emphasising that Section 144 had been imposed in Nandigram in the view of the polling, the BJP contended that Mamata Banerjee had disregarded the law by creating chaos at the polling booth.
“We did not come yesterday because we did not want to create additional pressure on the EC. TMC is levelling allegations every day, and they are pressurising the EC on various issues. Yesterday Mamata Banerjee went to Nandigram. She went to booth 7 and sat there for 2 hours. A candidate can always go to the booth but she should not break the laws,” the BJP delegation said.
Bajoria stated that Mamata Banerjee might have been wary of the speed with which the voting was done and had therefore resorted to disrupting the polls. “Maybe she thought reducing the speed of voting can narrow her defeat margin. Because of her, the voting process was slowed down. We are satisfied by whatever EC has done,” Shishir Bajoria told media.
EC to investigate allegations of poll rigging by Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, has accused central forces and the EC of helping the BJP in the polling process. As the polling in Nandigram drew to a close on Thursday evening, Mamata Banerjee and her rival Suvendu Adhikari alleged each other of indulging in voter suppression. The Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal released a statement after the polling concluded on Thursday, saying that action is being taken over violations of EC rules in some regions.
In response to Mamata Banerjee’s allegations of poll rigging, the Chief Electoral Officer said, “We are keeping a tab on everything. We have the machinery and people are also deployed everywhere. Everything is normal. Action is being taken wherever needed.”
The Election Body rubbished Mamata Banerjee’s allegations of crowding at polling station no 7 at the Nandigram seat saying that voting was not disrupted at any moment in the region.
Mamata blames central forces for disrupting the polling in Nandigram, CRPF refutes allegations
As chaos ensued at the Gokulnagar polling booth in Nandigram, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Central Forces for playing a role in disrupting the election proceedings. The TMC on Thursday filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the CRPF jawans deployed in the state for the conduct of polls, accusing them of not allowing the poll agents to work and beating them up.
However, the CRPF in its defence quashed the allegations levelled by the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that they are baseless.
