The decision of the Election Commission to hold bypolls only for the Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency where chief minister and Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee would contest from, has drawn flak from the CPI-M which alleged the decision may have been a result of a tacit understanding between the state’s ruling party and the election body.
Right after the EC had announced yesterday that it would conduct a bypoll in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, Opposition parties began training their guns at the commission. What led to the outbreak of the criticism was the notification by the EC which said that while the Commission has decided not to hold by-polls in other 31 assembly constituencies in the country, it would do so only for Bhabanipur AC, considering a “special request” from the West Bengal government.
Miss Banerjee had contested from Nandigram AC in the 2021 state polls where she lost to her former minister and now BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Senior TMC minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who won from Bhawanipur AC, subsequently vacated his seat for Miss Banerjee, but the by-polls could not be held due to the prevailing Covid situation.
The chief secretary of the state, HK Dwivedi, meanwhile, had written to the EC, highlighting that under Article 164(4) of the Constitution of India, a minister who is not a member of the Legislature of the state for a period of six consecutive months, shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a minister and there will be a constitutional crisis and vacuum in the top executive posts in the government unless elections are held immediately.
CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty took to Twitter and criticised the decision of the EC. He said it seemed as if it is not mandatory to hold by-polls in five other assembly constituencies but only in Bhabanipur to save the face of Mamata Banerjee who lost in Nandigram. Chakraborty alleged it must be some tacit understanding that led the EC to arrive at this decision at the request of the Mamata government.
Apart from Bhabanipur AC, bypolls are also pending in Khardaha, Gosaba, Dinhata and Shantipur.
The leader of the Opposition in the state, Suvendu Adhikari has also raised fingers at the EC, demanding to know why it overlooked the other 31 Assembly constituencies in the country and decided that Bhabanipur was vital.