Even though the Trinamool Congress (TMC) returned to power for the third consecutive term, Banerjee lost to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Adhikari by a narrow margin of 1,956 votes. This was Banerjee’s first electoral loss in 32 years.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenged her defeat in the Nandigram constituency against her former aide and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections in May 2021. The Calcutta High Court has posted the matter for June 24.
Justice Kausik Chanda is scheduled to hear the high-profile case virtually at 11 am on Friday.
West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) moves an Election Petition before the #CalcuttaHighCourt challenging Suvendu Adhikary (@SuvenduWB) election win from the Nandigram constituency.
Matter to be heard by the bench of Justice Kaushik Chandra at 11 AM. pic.twitter.com/alK0G5pT98
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) June 17, 2021
Even though the Trinamool Congress (TMC) returned to power for the third consecutive term, Banerjee lost to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Adhikari by a narrow margin of 1,956 votes. This was Banerjee’s first electoral loss in 32 years.
According to TMC leaders, Banerjee’s petition alleged that the votes were not counted properly. Adhikari, who switched to the BJP in December 2020, won the seat and went on to become the Leader of Opposition in the Bengal assembly.
In her petition, Banerjee sought that Suvendu Adhikari’s election is declared void on three grounds — commission of corrupt practices including bribery, promotion of hatred and enmity, seeking votes on the basis of religion and booth capture; there were also discrepancies in the counting procedure and discrepancies and non-compliance in Form 17C, which is the account of votes recorded and the result of counting. reported NDTV.
Ms Banerjee has questioned the decision of the Election Commission to reject her plea for a recount.
“Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Ms Mamata Banerjee’s chances of success in the election,” her petition read.
Ever since the counting began in the 292 constituencies of West Bengal on May 2 morning, Nandigram began on a positive note for BJP’s Adhikari who gained a slender but a lead nonetheless over the Chief Minister in the initial trends. Thereon, the pendulum swung with either candidate taking a lead at regular intervals.
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As the day progressed, it became increasingly clear that TMC was well on its way to secure a thumping majority in West Bengal in a direct bipolar contest between the TMC and BJP. Banerjee’s fate though in Nandigram hung in the balance. It was a rather strange situation when a party was well on its way to secure the majority and form a government, the Chief Minister was yet to be elected.
By Sunday evening, when the trends further solidified and most of the candidates knew their fate, the Election Commission declared Mamata Banerjee as the winner from Nandigram by 1200 votes. This, of course, was the icing on the cake for the already celebrating TMC workers (who didn’t bat an eyelid for COVID-19 protocols in the process) and hailed their leader’s courage and defeating a ‘traitor’ in Adhikari.
The Nandigram victory soon turned bittersweet. In an anti-climatic twist, the Election Commission retracted its statement and said that there’s another round of voting still remaining. While the Chief Minister was relishing her party’s mammoth victory, addressing the media and talking about the Nandigram result, she said “I accept the verdict in Nandigram – it is not a big deal. Don’t worry,”
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