Just a month after the crucial Bhabanipur by-election on September 30 where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, the state is again going to face elections in four assembly constituencies.
The election schedule announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) says that the pending bypolls are scheduled on October 30 and the results will be announced on November 3.
According to a notification released by the ECI on September 28, the pending by-elections for Dinhata in Coochebehar district, Shantipur in Nadia district, Khardaha in North 24 Parganas and Gosaba in South 24 Parganas will be held on October 30.
The bypolls in Dinhata and Shantipur were pending because Nishith Pramanik, MP from Coochbehar and Jagannath Sarkar, MP from Ranaghat who won from Santipur, submitted their resignation to Speaker Biman Banerjee. They preferred to retain their respective parliamentary seats and resigned from the state legislative assembly. This left the two seats vacant. Both Sarkar and Pramanik have become union ministers in the Modi government.
The elections in two other assembly constituencies – Gosaba in South 24 Parganas and Khardaha in North 24 Parganas were necessisated as the elected candidates died due to Covid-19. Jayanta Naskar who won from Gosaba and Kajal Sinha who won from Khardaha died after the election was over.
Earlier, the ECI announced election in Bhabanipur constituency treating it as a ‘Special Case’ on the request of the state government and that triggered controversy. A PIL was filed challenging the commission’s decision and the matter is pending before the Calcutta High Court.
Quoting chief secretary H.K. Dwiwedi, the commission said, “He (Chief Secretary) cited 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 ceases to be a Minister and there will be a constitutional crisis and vacuum in the top executive post in the Government unless election is held immediately.
He has also informed that in view of administrative exigencies and public interest and to avoid vacuum in the state, by-elections for 159-Bhabanipur, Kolkata may be conducted.