HC turns down BJP plea to withhold KMC polls result

The verdict came as a setback to the state BJP which had filed a petition citing several grounds for the postponement and withholding of KMC poll results.

Abhrajit Mukherjee, BJP counsel, while pleading the case, had also cited the State Election Commissioner’s change in the overall percentage of voter turnout — from the initial announcement of 62% to the revision nearly 48 hours later which put the turnout figure at over 68%.

Saying that this “cast serious doubts on the fairness of the polling process”, the counsel demanded withholding of the election results until all the EVM machines had been checked by forensic experts for tampering and manipulation.

In response to BJP’s claims, the SEC told the court it had committed a “mistake” while compiling the voter turnout figures and it “regretted the mistake”.

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Justice Mukherjee then turned down the BJP’s plea, saying there was not enough evidence to prove the charges. On election day, Justice Mukherjee said, complaints of various nature do come but these are subject to verification. He added that the High Court does not have the jurisdiction to stall an electoral process based on such arguments.

Significantly, Justice Mukherjee also turned down the BJP’s demand for a court directive on the issue of deployment of central security forces for the April 25 election in 91 municipalities of the state.
It may be recalled that both SEC and Opposition parties had demanded the deployment of at least 500 companies of central security forces but the state government could arrange only three.

Justice Mukherjee said that the next phase of the polling would have to be managed with whatever central forces are available with the SEC which is three companies.

The court, however, directed the SEC to ensure “that the deployment of these three companies were done in consultation with the BJP and other political parties” and that the “sensitive booths” should be given the priority.

Responding to the verdict, senior state BJP leader Tathagata Roy said the party “could not provide enough evidence to convince the honourable court about the malpractices on polling day”. He admitted that it (the verdict) will give the KMC poll results “some sort of legitimacy”.

Before campaign ends, violence erupts; BJP asks for protection

Even as the curtain came down on the campaigning for the second phase of municipal polls in which 90 municipal bodies will vote on April 25, reports of sporadic clashes in different districts continued to surface.

In Malda, a BJP election rally was allegedly attacked by Trinamool Congress supporters in Ward 9 of English Bazaar municipality. Several BJP supporters, including a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, were allegedly injured.

In Barasat, clashes broke out between supporters of Forward Bloc and TMC Wednesday morning when the Bloc’s Ward 16 candidate, Sanjib Chattopadhyay, was taking out a rally in the area. Chattopadhyay alleged that the attack by the TMC workers was “totally unprovoked”. Several women members of the Forward Bloc were injured and Chattopadhyay was assaulted, party members alleged.

Actress Rupa Ganguly, who had been campaigning vigorously for the BJP, and the party’s Basirhat MLA Shamik Bhattacharya, on Wednesday held a sit-in demonstration outside Basirhat SDO’s office for several hours. They were joined by 23 BJP candidates of the Basirhat municipality who alleged they were being “threatened and intimidated”.

Addressing the gathering, Rupa Ganguly said she had personally seen how the Trinamool Congress was bringing in “outsiders” to rig the polls on April 25. She said both she and Bhattacharya noticed “hordes of people being ferried into Basirhat in matador vans and other small vehicles”.

The BJP has lodged complaints with the local authorities, saying it feared trouble on the polling day and demanded police protection.