8 BJP leaders move Calcutta High Court seeking recounting in Bengal

LE Desk

Kolkata, July 5, 2021: The Calcutta High Court will hear on Monday the pleas of two BJP leaders seeking a review of the results of the recently-held Assembly elections in West Bengal in their respective constituencies.

At least eight leaders of the BJP have moved the Calcutta High Court seeking recounting of the votes, reported news agency ANI.

Kalyan Chaubey, who lost the recent assembly election from the 167 Maniktola assembly constituency told ANI, “I have filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court, requesting it to conduct re-counting of votes. 167 Maniktola is my assembly constituency. There was violence during elections. There were attacks on me twice on polling day. Everything is on record. 

“On the counting day, there were many unauthorised polling agents of the TMC were present in large numbers at counting booths. I had submitted written complaints both to the state election commission and returning officer. On the basis of these complaints, I have filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court urging it to consider re-counting,” he claimed.

The development has come days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee moved the High Court seeking a recount for the Nandigram Assembly constituency, where she lost to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.

“Eight BJP leaders moved to HC seeking a review of results (West Bengal Assembly Polls 2021) in their respective constituencies. Many of them have got listed on Monday,” he added.

BJP candidate Soujit Singha who lost the recent Assembly election of Jalpaiguri constituency to the TMC candidate, has also sought a review of the results. Singha expressed confidence that if re-counting is conducted the results shall be totally different.

Speaking to ANI, Singha said, “I just want the re-counting should take place. I am 100 per cent sure that if recounting will be done then results will be totally different.”

“I won just 941 votes. After the results were declared, everyone kept on asking the same thing that how did this happen, many people had doubts about the results. On the day of polling, many people gheraoed a vehicle from where three EVMs were recovered. This raises suspicion. During counting, when there were 50 BJP workers allowed at the counting booth but more than 100 TMC workers were allowed,” said Singha.

He further said, “The counting was conducted in four rooms and 16 rounds. I was leading in the first round of counting itself, but then suddenly I started trailing suddenly and the opponent TMC candidate was given a lead by over 1000 votes which is evident that the pace of counting and the votes by which the TMC candidates were given a lead did not match.”

“Then I wrote a letter to the returning officer (RO) and asked him that he conducts the re-counting of at least the last round of one room. If everything comes out to be fine, I will accept my defeat. And if there is even a small degree of doubt then the entire counting should be conducted again. But the RO dismissed my plea. Then I was not left with any other option but to knock on the doors of Calcutta High Court where I filed an election petition. Now the court will decide whether there is a need for re-counting or not,” he added.

BJP leader Biswanath Banerjee who lost the recent Assembly election also moved to the Calcutta High Court seeking a review of the results

“I’ve filed a petition in High Court seeking recounting of votes of Mahishadal Vidhan Sabha constituency,” Banerjee said.

The Calcutta High Court on June 24 reserved the judgement on a plea of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging Nandigram election results. The Election Commission had declared BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari the winner in the fiercely contested election for the Nandigram constituency.

After her defeat in Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Returning Officer of the Assembly seat had said that he was threatened against recounting of votes.

Despite Banerjee losing the seat to Adhikari, who was once her close aide, the TMC registered a landslide victory in polls winning 213 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly. While the BJP lost the polls but emerged as the second-largest party with 77 seats.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) even wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal seeking “immediate re-counting of votes and postal ballots” in the Nandigram constituency, but recounting was refused for reasons unknown.

“Such refusal is bad in law and coloured. We demand an immediate recounting of Nandigram AC 210 to preserve the sanctity of the electoral process,” the TMC had said in a letter to the CEO.