Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 25 : The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has lodged a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the appointment of Surajit Roy as the Returning Officer for the Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency, officials said on Wednesday.
The party has raised concerns that Roy, who has been appointed to oversee the election in the high-profile constituency, is reportedly close to West Bengal Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari and is allegedly working at his behest.
This development has further escalated tensions between the AITC and the BJP ahead of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, scheduled to be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will be held on May 4
The Bhabanipur constituency, currently represented by AITC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is expected to witness a fierce battle between Banerjee and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, the LoP, who has been fielded by the BJP in the same constituency.
Meanwhile, the AITC recently unveiled its list of 291 candidates for the upcoming West Bengal elections. Out of the 291 candidates, 52 are women, 95 belong to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and 47 come from minority communities.
Prominent leaders nominated include Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who will contest from Kolkata Port, and Shashi Panja, fielded from Shyampukur. Senior leader Madan Mitra will once again contest from Kamarhati, while former journalist Devadeep Purohit has been nominated from Khardah. Rajya Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee's son, Prabhat Banerjee, will contest from Uttarpara, and party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh is set to make his electoral debut from Beleghata.
The list also features candidates such as Bratya Basu from Dum Dum, Sujit Bose from Bidhannagar, Narayan Goswami from Ashoknagar, filmmaker Raj Chakraborty from Barrackpore, and Chandrima Bhattacharya from Dum Dum North. Other notable nominees include former MP Arpita Ghosh from Balurghat, and Gautam Deb, Paresh Chandra Adhikari, and Udayan Guha from Dinhata. Former IPS officer Humayun Kabir will contest from Domkal.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently released its second list of 111 candidates for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, setting the stage for a high-stakes contest against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) across all 294 constituencies in the state. The first list included 144 candidates.
The last date for filing nominations for this phase is April 6, while scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 7. Candidates will be allowed to withdraw their nominations until April 9.
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