Battle Nandigram
Mamata Banerjee moves Calcutta HC against her Nandigram defeat to Suvendu Adhikari in Bengal polls
Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court to challenge her defeat in the state Assembly elections from the Nandigram constituency against her once-close aide Suvendu Adhikari.
The high court court will hear the matter on Friday.
In her petition, Banerjee sought that Suvendu Adhikari's election be declared void on three grounds, that being commission of corrupt practices including bribery, promotion of hatred and enmity, seeking votes on the basis of religion and booth capture and finally discrepancies in the counting procedure.
"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.
Reacting to the matter, BJP's IT cell head and spokesperson Amit Malviya slammed Banerjee for "challenging people's verdict in the court". He said Banerjee would once again suffer the "humiliation of Nandigram defeat".
"How do you lose an election twice? First, at the hustings and then, like a sore loser, challenging people’s verdict in the court. It would be fascinating to see Mamata Banerjee suffer the humiliation of Nandigram defeat twice over," he tweeted.
How do you lose an election twice? First, at the hustings and then, like a sore loser, challenging people’s verdict in the court.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) June 17, 2021
It would be fascinating to see Mamata Banerjee suffer the humiliation of Nandigram defeat twice over.
After a close contest between the two heavyweights in the high profile Nandigram Assembly constituency, Banerjee lost to Adhikari by a margin of over 1,900 votes.
Banerjee had earlier questioned her defeat from Nandigram and also announced that she would move the court to challenge her loss.
The results for the highly-anticipated election was declared on May 2 after a prolonged counting, which went on till midnight, amid several twists and turns.
Banerjee had trailed Adhikari for 11 rounds but the trend changed in the next four, with margins ranging from six to 11,000. Adhikari gained in the final rounds and was declared winner.
The controversy erupted mainly after Banerjee too was declared winner once in media reports, but later, it was reported the counting was on and Adhikari was finally announced as the winner.
Though Banerjee lost to her former confidante, the Trinamool Congress registered a thumping victory by securing 213 Assembly seats.
The BJP which was the main opposition to the TMC managed to bag 77 seats.
Suvendu Adhikari, who once served as a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet, had left the TMC to join the BJP in December 2020.
After defeating Banerjee in recent Bengal polls, he is now the leader of the opposition at the state assembly.
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