A new controversy has emerged in the politics of West Bengal before the elections. The ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) has demanded the removal of the Returning Officer (RO) of Bhawanipur Assembly seat. The party alleges that this officer is very close to BJP leader Shubhendu Adhikari, due to which questions are being raised on the fairness of the elections. TMC submitted a complaint letter to the state Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Aggarwal saying that there are serious objections to the appointment of the returning officer appointed for Bhawanipur seat. The party says that this officer already had a close relationship with Subhendu Adhikari. Especially when this officer was the Block Development Officer in Nandigram-2, the closeness between the two was also visible in public.
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Fairness of elections may be affected- TMC
TMC also said that having such ties increases the risk of bias on the election process and may affect the fairness of the elections. According to the party, the work of the Returning Officer is very important, such as scrutinizing the nominations, monitoring the voting process and announcing the results, hence it is important for him to be completely impartial. Apart from this, TMC has also raised questions on the current posting of the officer. He says that he is currently the Additional Director in the Land Records Department, which is usually a post of senior officers. In such a situation, his appointment is being described as suspicious and biased.
Trinamool also mentioned the code of conduct
Citing Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, TMC said that it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure fair and free elections. Besides, the party also mentioned the code of conduct, in which administrative impartiality has been said to be necessary.
The party also informed that after the complaint made on March 24, the Election Commission had asked for the names of three alternative officers from the state government, which the state government has also given. But no decision has been taken yet on the removal of the returning officer. TMC has called this entire matter constitutionally wrong and dangerous for the elections and has demanded immediate action from the Election Commission, so that the credibility of the election process is maintained.
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