Calcutta HC adjourns Mamata Banerjee's plea against Nandigram election results to Nov 15

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of the Nandigram matter to November 15. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had filed a plea challenging Bharatiya Janata Party heavyweight, Suvendu Adhikari's election result from the Nandigram constituency in the 2021 assembly elections.

After Banerjee's loss to Adhikari, CM had challenged election results

Banerjee, the All India Trinamool Congress Supremo had lost to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram in the state assembly election held earlier this year, even as she retains the post of West Bengal's Chief Minister. After this, Mamata Banerjee challenged the election results in the court. The High Court on June 18 deferred the hearing in the matter of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging Nandigram results.

The Chief Minister had accused Adhikari of committing corrupt practices as envisaged under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. When the bench heard the case in mid-July, it directed the Election Commission to preserve all documents, election papers, devices and video recordings connected with the election concerned. Notably, the case was assigned to Justice Kausik Chanda. However, he recused himself from hearing the petition when Chief Minister Banerjee alleged that the bench may be biased against her.

"Kaushik Chanda was associated with the BJP's legal cell before his elevation as a judge," WB CM's lawyers said.

A fine of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on the West Bengal CM for 'the manner' in which she levelled charges against the judge. The case was reassigned to the bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal.

On July 14, 2021, Suvendu Adhikari had moved to the Apex Court seeking transfer of the election petition filed by the West Bengal Chief Minister at the Calcutta High Court challenging his election win from the Nandigram constituency in the assembly polls. On Thursday, the Calcutta High Court subsequently allowed the application moved by BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari seeking a delay on the ground that a transfer petition has been filed by him before the Apex Court and is currently pending adjudication.

The Nandigram case

In a bid to protect her home turf, Mamata Banerjee had battled BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in the place which had catapulted Mamata Banerjee into the CM post in 2011. Miffed by the rising influence of Banerjee's nephew - Abhishek Banerjee and IPAC poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Trinamool, Adhikari along with several other MLAs had switched to BJP. Taking the battle head-on, Banerjee had announced she will contest polls from Nandigram instead of her bastion Bhowanipore, leading to BJP fielding Adhikari. While Nandigram is a Trinamool bastion, it is the Adhikari family - Sisir, Suvendu, Dibyendu and Soumendu which has massive sway in the district - leading to Suvendu's victory over Mamata by a margin of 1737 votes. Suvendu has been rewarded by BJP with his election as Leader of Opposition.

(Image Credit: PTI)