Time Given For Nomination Filing Not Enough: HC Asks Bengal Panchayat Poll Schedule To Be Reconsidered

West Bengal Panchayat Polls: Observing that the pleas were not filed to stop the election procedure, the HC asked State Election Commission why it was not allowing online nominations for candidates.

Hearing the pleas filed by the BJP and the Congress on Panchayat elections, the Division Bench of the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court asked the State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday to reconsider the notification of the local polls, observing that more time should be given for filing nominations. The pleas were filed over the announcement of the three-tier panchayat polls in West Bengal to be held on July 8, alleging that the time given for filing nominations is not enough as a huge number of candidates will have to file nominations for over 70,000 seats in just seven days.

Observing that the pleas were not filed to stop the election procedure, the high court asked SEC why it was not allowing online nominations for candidates and directed the poll body to discuss with the state government the opposition's demand for the deployment of central security forces in the election. If necessary the state can work with the central forces, HC noted hearing the pleas filed by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

The commission has to go forward with the view of a peaceful election. The commission also has to keep in view that civic volunteers can not be used for the purposes of Election works, the HC bench mentioned.

An affidavit has been sought from the State Election Commission by June 12.

Bengal Panchayat Polls Schedule

SEC Rajiva Sinha on Thursday said that the village council elections will be held on a single day, with the deadline for filing nominations set for June 15. The votes will be counted on July 11.

Seen as a litmus test ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, panchayat polls in West Bengal will witness a fierce contest between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress.

In its plea to the court, the BJP demanded central filing of nomination, installation of CCTV cameras in every booth, and deployment of Paramilitary forces.

In 2013, the panchayat elections were held with central forces stationed at every polling booth in the state. The TMC, which had been in power for two years at that time, won over 85 per cent of the seats, with the opposition alleging malpractices. 

In the 2018 rural polls, the TMC won 90 per cent of the Panchayat seats in the state and all 22 Zilla Parishads. However, these elections were marred by widespread violence and malpractices, with the opposition alleged that they were prevented from filing nominations in several seats across the state.

Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday conceded that the elections, which were scheduled in May, were delayed.

'Murder Of Democracy': BJP's Suvendu Adhikari On Panchayat Poll Date Announcement

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari called the announcement a "murder of democracy", tweeting, "For the first time ever, the Panchayat Elections have been announced unilaterally without convening a single All-Party Meeting at the Block levels, District Levels, or at State Level".

He expressed concerns about the lack of dialogue regarding the security measures for the upcoming single-phase elections, claiming that the SEC intends to work like a frontal organisation of the TMC.

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha will be held responsible for any casualty resulting from potential election-related violence due to this hasty declaration and lack of reasonable diligence," he added.

As per news agency PTI, SEC Rajiva Sinha dismissed a question regarding the announcement of the election date without an all-party meeting, saying that there was "no such rule that dates cannot be announced without an all-party meeting."

No Rural Polls Conducted With Deployment Of Central Forces: TMC

Notably, the ruling TMC dismissed the demand to deploy central forces as "unreasonable." "The Trinamool Congress is prepared for the Panchayat polls. The opposition will witness the party's support. In no state, rural polls are conducted with the deployment of central forces. So why should Bengal be an exception? The demand is unrealistic and irrational," stated TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.

Mocking the opposition for complaining about lack of time to file nominations, Ghosh said, "If they can't find candidates, we will provide them with one." The opposition BJP criticised the unilateral announcement by the SEC as "murder of democracy" and questioned the feasibility of filing nominations for over 70,000 seats within a span of just seven days.

During the state's three-tier Panchayat elections, there will be contests in 928 seats across 22 Zilla Parishads, 9,730 Panchayat Samiti seats, and 63,229 Gram Panchayats seats. Around 5.67 crore people are eligible to vote in the elections.

With most of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal having rural and semi-rural areas administered by panchayats, the results of the panchayat polls are considered to be an indicator of which way the state will vote in the 2024 general elections. 

(With PTI Inputs)