KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP is having to fend off Trinamool’s googlies on Bengal’s poll pitch, as the voting day draws near in the northern part of the state.
BJP had to field an Independent candidate in Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday after the Mamata Banerjee-led state government failed to respond to BJP candidate’s resignation letter, making dismissal of his nomination by the Election Commission inevitable. Jalpaiguri is going to polls on April 18 for which Tuesday was the last day of filing nomination.
BJP’s Jalpaiguri candidate Dr Jayanta Ray is a state government doctor and as per new EC rules, a candidate has to resign from government post and present the acceptance of a resignation for his nomination.
Sources said Jayanta Ray was unaware of the new rule and sent his resignation at the last moment, which the health department did not respond to.
However, Trinamool founder-turned-BJP leader Mukul Roy played trouble-shooter at the last moment and saved the day for BJP by rushing to north Bengal, holding meetings with regional BJP leaders and making BJP North Bengal Unit co-convenor and former Jalpaiguri district BJP president Dipen Pramanik file his nomination as an Independent.
Trinamool also demanded the arrest of BJP’s Coochbehar candidate Nisith Pramanik after he revealed in his nomination paper that there were 11 pending criminal cases against him, of which two are outside the state and non-bailable.
“He has to be immediately arrested or else he may cause trouble in the elections,” North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh said.
Responding to the demand, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said, “Trinamool is trying to make an issue out of everything.”