BJP mulling legal recourse over Kolkata civic polls

Kolkata, April 22: A day after the West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) rejected the opposition parties’ demands for repolls, the BJP on Wednesday said it was exploring legal options on the Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls, terming it “a joke on democracy”. “The April 18 polls have become a joke on democracy, so we have decided to explore legal option against this. The Trimool Congress’ intentions are clear that it will continue to turn the polls into a farce,” Bharatiya Jata Party tiol secretary and party-in charge for the state Siddharth th Singh said.

“Time and again the administration has proved that it will only be hand-in-glove with the Trimool in this. It seems there is no distinction between the administration and the Trimool.  Singh also accused Trimool supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of surpassing former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad in establishing “jungle raj” in the state.

“Lalu had established jungle raj in Bihar and Mamataji is someone who has beaten him in this, to take the first prize,” he added. Despite the Left Front, the BJP and the Congress complaining of widespread violence and terror by the Trimool, State Election Commissioner S.R. Upadhyay on Tuesday rejected their demands for repolling in several booths. State BJP president Rahul Sinha had earlier written to the poll panel seeking cancellation of the entire poll process and holding the exercise afresh with adequate deployment of central security forces. (IANS)