West Bengal State Election Commissioner tenders resignation to Governor

Upadhyaya did not join his office on Tuesday and met WB governor Keshari Nath Tripathi in afternoon.

He also submitted his resignation letter to the governor.

Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi told media: "State election commissioner Susanta Ranjan Upadhyaya came to me and handed over his resignation letter. I accepted the resignation letter and have forwarded it to the state government. I am yet to receive the views of the government."

Amid violence, West Bengal observed a municipal election in Bidhannagar (Salt Lake), Howrah and Asansol on Saturday where many polling stations were allegedly hijacked by the ruling party Trinamool Congress.

During the election coverage, twenty-one mediapersons were assaulted.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which was alleged of committing violence, jamming the booths, rigging and attacking journalists during coverage of recently concluded West Bengal municipal elections, held a protest rally in Kolkata on Tuesday.

The party alleged the opposition to be behind the violence.

The rally started from College Square and ended at Esplanade area in Kolkata.

Besides thousands of supporters, TMC leaders, including Kolkata Mayor Shovan Chatterjee, West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim, WB Power minister Manish Gupta and All India TMC general secretary Subrata Bakshi, joined the rally here.

The state election commission has decided to conduct re-poll in few booths in Bidhannagar, Asansol and Howrah on Oct 8 and postponed the counting of the polls to Oct 9, which was scheduled for Oct 7.