BJP requests EC to ensure implementation of Sec 144 in Nandigram; fears violence by TMC

On Wednesday, BJP urged the Election Commission to ensure the implementation of Section 144 of the CrPC in every corner of Nandigram a day ahead of the polling. As per the EC orders, the assembly of five or more persons is prohibited within 200 meters of polling premises except for people on election duty and those entitled to vote in the said polling stations. Moreover, the poll body has also banned the entry of people who are not allowed to vote in Nandigram. The BJP delegation maintained that the TMC government is making a mockery of the poll process by indulging in electoral malpractices.

According to them, TMC was planning to unleash violence in Nandigram to deter people from turning out at the polling booths on Thursday, sensing WB CM Mamata Banerjee's loss to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari. To buttress its point, the JP Nadda-led party cited sources to claim that 100 plainclothed policemen had entered Nandigram in order to perpetuate violence. Calling for the EC's intervention, it pressed for all necessary steps to be taken to ensure a free and fair election. 

West Bengal Assembly polls

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had swept the 2016 Assembly polls by bagging 211 seats in the 294-member Assembly. In West Bengal, 294 seats are up for grabs and people will be able to cast their votes at 1,01,916 polling stations. The voter turnout for the 30 seats that went to the polls in the first phase was 84.63%. The polling for the remaining phases will take place on April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. The counting of votes shall take place on May 2. 

Addressing a press conference on March 5, WB CM Mamata Banerjee announced the list of 291 TMC candidates while leaving three seats for the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for the Assembly election. The list includes 50 women candidates, 79 Scheduled Caste candidates, 17 Scheduled Tribes candidates and 42 Muslim candidates. On the other hand, BJP's candidate list includes prominent leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister Babul Supriyo, three other Lok Sabha MPs, ex-nominated MP Swapan Dasgupta, Mukul Roy and Rahul Sinha.