TMC seeks removal of EC's WB polls in-charge; alleges 'his actions are favourable to BJP'

In a key development on Thursday, TMC demanded the removal of Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain as the EC's in-charge of the West Bengal Assembly polls. Writing to WB Chief Electoral Officer, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien complained about two purported "illegal" actions taken by Jain. First, he accused the Deputy Election Commissioner of filing a biased report after the vandalization of Vidyasagar College and a statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar during a rally led by ex-BJP president Amit Shah in the lead-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

He lamented that only BJP was allowed to campaign thereafter while no action was taken against the vandals allegedly belonging to the JP Nadda-led party. Moreover, O'Brien highlighted that Jain had introduced the Quick Response Team comprising the state police and the Central Armed Police Forces to be led by a CAPF officer during the 2019 General Election. Maintaining that such a decision is beyond the realm of law, he recalled that the EC had withdrawn it subsequently. Observing that Jain's actions are favourable to BJP and unconstitutional, he made it clear that TMC had no confidence in him. 

Read: Kailash Vijayvargia Says BJP Likely To Submit Candidate List For WB Assembly Polls Today

Here is TMC's complaint letter:

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WB Assembly polls

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had swept the 2016 Assembly polls by bagging 211 seats in the 294-member Assembly. Buoyed by its success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls where it won 18 out of 42 parliamentary seats in WB, BJP has launched a fierce campaign to defeat TMC. Both Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda exuded confidence in the party winning more than 200 seats in the Assembly polls. The Congress-Left-ISF alliance is also in the poll fray while AIMIM too has announced its intention to make its political debut in the state. 

Announcing the dates of the Assembly polls on February 26, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora mentioned that 18.68 crore persons will decide the fate of 824 seats in the aforesaid 4 States and one Union Territory at 2.7 lakh polling stations. In West Bengal, 294 seats are up for grabs and people will be able to cast their votes at 1,01,916 polling stations. As per the phases, the polling in the state will be conducted on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. The counting of votes shall take place on May 2. 

Read: BJP Urges EC To Debar 2 TMC Ministers From Fighting WB Polls Over Alleged MCC Violations