The Calcutta High Court has requested a response from the West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) following concerns raised by leaders of opposition parties regarding the upcoming rural polls scheduled for July 8. The issues raised by the opposition include the limited timeframe for filing nomination papers and the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces. In the previous panchayat polls in 2018, violence was rampant, and the opposition alleged that a significant number of seats were won by the ruling Trinamool Congress without any contest due to intimidation of other candidates.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya sought a response from the SEC by June 12 after hearing two writ petitions filed by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and State Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The court emphasized the importance of ensuring free and fair elections and expressed concern over the insufficient time limit for filing nominations. The notification allowed for nominations to be filed from June 9 to June 15 for various seats at the gram panchayat, panchayat samities, and zilla parishad levels.
The court noted that the current process seemed rushed and suggested that the SEC reconsider the timeline, especially since physical forms were required for filing nominations. The issue of deploying central forces was also raised, with the court urging the SEC to decide whether their presence would be beneficial to assist the state police force.
In response to the petitions, the Trinamool accused the opposition of attempting to delay the rural polls, while the Congress and BJP accused the ruling party of obstructing the conduct of fair elections. On the first day of nomination filing, BJP leaders protested against the alleged shortage of nomination forms, and clashes between Trinamool and Left supporters were reported in Murshidabad district.
Meanwhile, State Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced that his party would form an alliance with the CPI(M) for the polls, instructing Congress workers to support the CPI(M) in contesting the July 8 elections.
