Suvendu Adhikari for strike withdrawal : Re-poll in two wards

The BJP leader's statement, which was made during a meeting at Nandigram in East Midnapore, came at a time when his party men elsewhere were on the streets trying to enforce the bandh

BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh during a road blockade by the BJP at Hashmi Chowk in Siliguri on Monday. : Passang Yolmo

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |  01.03.22  :  Bengal Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari asked BJP supporters in Nandigram to abruptly call off a 12-hour bandh that his party had called on Monday across the state to protest alleged “loot of votes” by the ruling party during municipal polls on Sunday.

Adhikari’s statement, which was made during a meeting at Nandigram in East Midnapore, came at a time when BJP leaders elsewhere were on the streets trying to enforce the bandh. Adhikari’s remark caught the state BJP leadership off guard and showed that all in the party were not on the same page on the issue of the bandh.

“From 5-5.30 in the morning... the strike has been called suddenly, it has led to problems for many.… I would request Dhananjoy, our mandal president, to call off the strike at 12 pm. He will announce it. You people call off the blockade at 12,” Adhikari said at Tengua in Nandigram while a blockade was being enforced by BJP supporters as part of the shutdown.

The remark angered several BJP leaders as they felt it went against the party’s decision to protest the alleges malpractices in the polls. Leaders close to the Nandigram MLA, however, felt Adhikari had sensed public discontent for suddenly calling a bandh and tried to stop people from getting further alienated from the party.

Reacting to Adhikari’s comments, BJP chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the Nandigram MLA’s statements were being misinterpreted. “He did not call for a withdrawal of the strike. He asked for the removal of road blockade,” Bhattacharya said. Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said he was unaware of Adhikari’s statements.

Contrary to Adhikari’s sentiments, Majumdar resorted to a sit-in demonstration in Balurghat, while BJP MLAs Shankar Ghosh and Anandamoy Barman for blocked roads in Siliguri.

A division bench of Calcutta High Court headed by Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava on Monday accepted the BJP’s petition seeking a re-poll at the Contai municipality. While moving the petition, the BJP’s counsel said large-scale violence and hooliganism had marred the polling at Contai.

Re-poll in two wards

The state election commission ordered re-polls at a booth in ward 25 of Serampore municipality and a booth in ward 33 of Dumdum municipality on Tuesday. The decision followed state election commissioner Sourav Das’ meeting with governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday. Sources said the governor had asked Das to hold re-polls at places from where violence had been reported.

Left agitation

On Monday, a Left Front delegation led by its chairman Biman Bose organised a demonstration in front of the SEC office in Calcutta to protest against large-scale electoral malpractices that had allegedly taken place on Sunday.