Kolkata, Feb 2 The West Bengal unit of the BJP on Monday filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging that an area president of the ruling Trinamool Congress had been appointed as a Booth-Level Officer (BLO) for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
As per the complaint of the state unit of the BJP, the name of Chandan Saha, the BLO of booth number 146 of Kajaldighi Primary School of Khempur village panchayat of block number 2 in Malda district, allegedly figures in the list of the Trinamool Congress’ block and regional committees in the district.
In that list, alleges the BJP, Chandan Saha is the Khempur regional secretary of the Trinamool Congress.
The Opposition party has now approached the Election Commission with the list showing the name of Saha.
The BJP’s Malda (North) organisational district president, Pratap Chandra Sinha, claims this proves how the administration had allowed ruling party leaders to operate as BLOs, so that they could do the necessary manipulations on behalf of the state’s ruling party. “We have updated the ECI about the development,” Sinha said.
Saha told mediapersons in Malda that this was not the first time that he had operated as a BLO and that he had been associated with the Trinamool Congress’ teachers’ wing at one time.
“This time, when I was selected as a BLO, I disassociated myself from any kind of political activities. I did not participate in any party meeting or any other political programme. I had been associated with Trinamool Congress’ teachers’ wing,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress' spokesman for the Malda district organisation, Ashish Kundu, said that it is the administration that decides who will be selected as a BLO.
“Our Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has millions of followers, and obviously, many of them have been selected as BLOs. Had this been the criterion for filtering persons to be appointed as BLOs, then it would have been impossible for the administration to appoint an adequate number of persons as BLOs,” Kundu said.
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