Kolkata: Chaos prevailed in front of the state election commission’s office at Rawdon Street on Sunday afternoon as the Congress and the Left were refused when they wanted to meet commissioner A.K. Singh and submit a deputation alleging widespread violence and booth capturing by Trinamul Congress workers.
A Congress delegation led by their state general secretary Omprakash Mishra was the first to reach the office. “The elections in Pujali, Raiganj and Domkal have been conducted in an undemocratic and unconstitutional manner. The voting should be scrapped and the commission should order a repoll,” Mr Mishra said. The
Congress supporters then resorted to a road blockade and sit-in-demonstration in front of the state EC office claiming that it had failed to conduct free and fair polls.
A CPI(M) delegation reached the EC office at around 2 pm and wanted to meet the commissioner. It was in the afternoon that the commissioner met the legation. with the same demand of repoll alleging that the voting has been turned into a farce.
They were also denied entry. The CPI(M) soon joined the Congress in their agitation and there was a scuffle with the police as some of their supporters tried to enter the office forcibly. “We have submitted a compliant with the Shakespeare Sarani police station against the commissioner as he has violated the constitutional provision by not allowing us to submit a deputation,” CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said.
BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha also demanded that the elections be countermanded and fresh polls be declared by the State Election Commission. “The commission should cancel today’s elections and fresh polls should be held with central forces in charge of security,” Mr Sinha said.
However, the commissioner later in the late afternoon agreed to meet the delegation though the CPI(M) did not meet the commissioner personally and submitted the deputation at his office.
