Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 2 : Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy on Saturday said that repolling in select booths is a routine electoral exercise, even as the Supreme Court declined to issue fresh directions on a plea related to the deployment of counting supervisors in West Bengal Assembly elections.
"From the time that I have been following elections, repolling is done in some seats. This is not new," Roy said, downplaying concerns around the ongoing repoll in parts of the state.
The remarks came after the Supreme Court of India disposed of a plea filed by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), which had challenged a Calcutta High Court order regarding the deployment of only Central government and PSU employees as counting supervisors. A special bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi heard the matter urgently ahead of the May 4 counting.
During the hearing, the Court recorded the submission of the Election Commission of India that its April 13 circular would be implemented in full. This includes the deployment of State government employees along with Central and PSU personnel in the counting process. The bench declined to pass further orders, reiterating the ECI's assurance.
The dispute stemmed from a communication issued by the Additional Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, which mandated that at least one official at each counting table be from the Central government or a PSU. The AITC had argued that the directive could lead to apprehensions of bias, citing the Centre's administrative control over such personnel.
Meanwhile, Roy also responded to allegations of post-poll violence made by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, asserting that unrest was not one-sided. "BJP people are also causing a lot of unrest. They are even attacking Trinamool. The government, the Election Commission, and the central forces should look into this," he said.