Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 3 : Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy on Sunday criticised the decision to hold re-polling in Falta, saying the move was "not a happy decision" and questioning the rationale behind isolating a single constituency.
Reacting to the development, Roy told ANI, "According to us, it is not a happy decision. Why alone Falta would be isolated and why elections are held there again is not clear to us.... When elections are held, we will participate in them."
According to the ECI, directives for fresh repolling have been given in Falta "on consideration of severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process during the polling in a large number of polling stations on April 29."
Earlier on Saturday, the BJP delegation met with West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh visited the Netaji Indoor Stadium, which has strong rooms with EVMs.
BJP candidate from Maniktala Assembly Constituency, Tapas Roy, who was part of the BJP's delegation to the CEO, said the Election Commission's rules and regulations regarding the seating arrangements for national and state party representatives in the counting hall must be strictly followed.
"We came with three issues. In Bardhaman, where people were climbing the building from the outside up to the fifth floor, what were the CAPF and the district police doing? Second, in Pingla and Daspur, casual workers are being deployed for duties they shouldn't be assigned to. This must stop. Third, the Election Commission's rules and regulations regarding the seating arrangements for national and state party representatives in the counting hall must be strictly followed. The Returning Officer (RO), Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), observers, and counting officers must ensure this," he said.
"Because of incidents like what happened in Falta, Abhishek (Banerjee) won by a margin of 7 lakh 11 thousand votes in Diamond Harbour. Even today in Falta, things happen that shouldn't have. People were prevented from voting; in Hindu villages, our mothers and sisters had to come out and protest," he added.