‘Ten lifetimes won’t be enough’: TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee dares BJP to contest from Falta after repolling announced | India News
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission after announcing fresh polling following reports of “serious electoral crimes and subversion of the democratic process” during the second phase of the April 29 polls in Phalta assembly constituency.Reacting to BJP leader Amit Malviya’s social media post on X, the TMC MP from Diamond Harbor challenged “anti-Bengal Gujarati gangs” to contest from Falta.“Ten lives will not be enough for your anti-Bengali Gujarati gang and their stalwart Gyanesh Kumar to put a dent in my Diamond Harbor model. Bring what you have. I challenge the Union of All India–come to Phalta,” Banerjee wrote in a social media post on X.“Send your strongest, send a godfather from Delhi. If you’ve got the nerve, compete effectively,” he added.The Election Commission on Saturday announced a re-poll in Falta on May 21, counting on May 24.West Bengal BJP co-in-charge, Amit Malviya alleged that voters were prevented from choosing the party candidate in several polling stations under Diamond Harbor constituency in Phalta during the second phase of assembly elections.Buttons were defaced with black masking tape and ink, affecting 60 of the 285 polling stations – 21% of the constituency. 53,967 voters (22.8% of 2.36 lakh voters) in this booth.“This compromised the integrity of the recorded vote and made it impossible to confirm the mandate,” the EC said, adding gaps in the video footage meant that similar tampering elsewhere could not be ruled out.This is the first time in Bengal that polling will take place after the declaration of the results of a full assembly constituency. Only Bihar was dominant in India. The EC said that the investigation into the complaint has found allegations of widespread EVM tampering in several booths.Meanwhile, tension flared in Hasimnagar, an area in Falta along the Hooghly river corridor, where villagers alleged threats from TMC candidate Jahangir Khan’s aides.Superintendent of Police Ajaypal Sharma, a DIG, who oversees the Diamond Harbor sub-division on the southern edge of the city, rushed to the area after residents complained of inaction.Security has been beefed up with the deployment of state police and central forces. Later, the EC ordered the arrest of two associates of Khan, Izrafil Chokdar and Sujauddin Sheikh. The countermanding took the fallout from Monday’s count, tightening the focus on the remaining seats that will be decided by the next government.
