BJP lodges complaint over TMC’s ‘strong-arm’ tactics

KOLKATA: BJP STATE CHIEF SAYS THE POLLS COULD TURN ‘BLOODY’ WITH MANY PEOPLE LIKELY TO LOSE THEIR LIVES IN RUNUP TO THE ELECTIONS

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation met West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Tuesday to lodge a complaint against the ruling party for allegedly using strongarm tactics ahead of the upcoming rural elections.

“The government has decided to conduct elections with goons and police. It is opposed the deployment of central forces for the elections. Ruling Trinamool Congress supporters are attacking our workers and candidates who went to file nomination on Monday and Tuesday,” BJP state president Dilip Ghosh told the media after meeting the governor on the second day of filing names for the rural elections

Stating that the poll were likely to be “bloody”, Ghosh said many people could die in the run-up to the elections.

“The governor told us that he will be calling the chief secretary and home secretary. He will also meet the state election commisState sioner. The governor is himself apprehensive after seeing the violence,” Ghosh said and added that the governor was in favour of deploying central forces in the state.

The rural elections in the state will be held in three phases on May 1, 3 and 5. Counting will take place on May 8.

The polls are crucial as a victory for TMC would bolster chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s efforts to form a front of regional parties to take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Ghosh said a number of BJP candidates were stopped from filing their nominations. “We will call the candidates who were prevented from filing nominations to Kolkata. They will come to the Election Commission and insist that they will complete the nomination formalities in the Kolkata office,” said Ghosh.

The ruling party dismissed Ghosh’s allegations and said there were doubts over whether the governor was carrying out his duties without any bias.

“The people of the state find it difficult to believe the neutrality of the governor,” said state education minister and Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee.

“I have interacted with a few governors over the years. But I have never heard that a governor wants the deployment of central forces,” he added and gave assurance that the upcoming polls would be peaceful.

On Monday evening, a man was killed Malda district when he was caught in the clashes between two factions of Trinamool Congress over who will file nominations for the polls from Kaliachak I panchayat samiti. Police have arrested two people in the case and said both are known to be TMC supporters.