Kolkata, April 21 The Election Commission of India, on Tuesday, announced the replacement of the police observer for the Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district of West Bengal, the native constituency of the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, which will go for polling in the first phase of the two-phase polling in the state on April 23.
Adhikari is contesting both from Nandigram and from Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata, where he is pitted against the Trinamool Congress candidate and the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.
Polling for Bhabanipur will be held in the second phase on April 29.
The Election Commission of India initially appointed Hitesh Chowdhury as the police observer for Nandigram. However, as per a fresh order issued by the poll panel on Tuesday afternoon, Chowdhury has been replaced by Akhilesh Singh.
The Commission also said the replacement will take effect immediately. However, the poll panel remained silent on why the replacement was carried out just two days before the polls at Nandigram on Thursday.
However, an insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, said that the decision had been taken to tighten security, given the sensitivity of Nandigram.
Incidentally, on Monday, the Trinamool Congress submitted a complaint to Chowdhury against the officer-in-charge of the Nandigram Police Station, accusing the officer of inaction on complaints filed by Trinamool Congress leaders and workers against certain local Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.
In the complaint, Trinamool Congress accused the said police officers of being inactive on complaints filed against Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, while the same officers are overactive in cases filed against local Trinamool Congress leaders.
The Trinamool Congress candidate at Nandigram this year is Pabitra Kar, an erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party leader from the constituency and once a close confidant of Adhikari.
Incidentally, he joined the Trinamool Congress just an hour before the ruling party officially announced its candidates for the West Bengal Assembly polls.
--IANS
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