North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], March 29 : Preparing for the West Bengal Assembly elections, BJP's Bidhannagar candidate Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay on Sunday interacted with the public as he conducted a morning walk campaign at Salt Lake, Central Park.
Speaking to ANI, Mukhopadhyay alleged that the incumbent Trinamool Congress did not allow for their posters to be displayed, and challenged them to fight "on a level playing field."
"It's morning time, the atmosphere is good, people are here. We are receiving blessings from everyone. Yesterday, our opposing party (TMC) did not allow us to deliver posters, sending the whole truck back...If you want to fight, then fight on a level playing field," he said.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday released the BJP's "chargesheet" against the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in Kolkata, calling the upcoming polls a decisive choice between "fear and trust." The move triggered sharp reactions from TMC leaders, who countered with their own "chargesheet", escalating the political confrontation in the poll-bound state.
The West Bengal Election is going to take place in two phases on 23 April and 29 April, with counting of votes scheduled on May 4.
In West Bengal, the Legislative Assembly consists of 294 seats, with the primary contest expected to be between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued directions for the strict implementation of the Model Code of Conduct for the general elections and bye-elections in 6 States.
As an effort to ensure compliance, ECI said that a complaint monitoring system has been set up, including a Call Centre number 1950, where grievances can be lodged with the DEO/RO concerned. This system can be used by the electorate and political parties. They can also report MCC violations using the C-Vigil App on ECINET.
West Bengal has a total of 6,45,61,152 electors as per the Election Commission of India, including 6,44,52,609 general electors and 1,08,543 service voters. The state has 5,23,229 young electors aged 18-19 years. The electoral rolls also list 4,16,089 electors marked as Persons with Disabilities (PwD), 1,152 electors identified as third gender, and 3,78,979 senior citizens aged 85 and above.
The last assembly election in the state was held in eight phases in 2021 amid an intense contest between the ruling TMC led by Mamata Banerjee and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress and Left Front drew a blank in the last state polls.