GUWAHATI: Acknowledging that there was a "mistake at some level" in the nomination papers of the Congress's Barpeta candidate, senior leader Jitendra Singh on Saturday said a "technical error" should not be grounds for outright rejection of candidature, and that the party was preparing to move court over this.
The nomination of Congress candidate Mahananda Sarkar was rejected after it was found that Form A did not carry the required signature of the authorised party leader.
Singh, the Congress general secretary in charge of Assam, said, "There was a mistake at some level. Additional forms were also submitted, but there were some technical errors."
He maintained that Election Commission rules allow rectification of technical errors during the scrutiny process, a position he said has also been upheld by Supreme Court judgments.
"We submitted the corrected forms during scrutiny, and our high court counsel was also present. But the EC acted like a 'karyakarta' and rejected the nomination," he alleged.
Singh said the Congress would pursue legal remedies and, if required, seek annulment of the election.
Following the rejection of Sarkar's candidature, BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad's Dipak Kumar Das and two Independent candidates remain in the fray for the Barpeta seat, which was held by the Congress in the outgoing assembly.
Polling for the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 9, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.