Nandigram Seat: Mamata moves HC against Suvendu’s win
Hearing deferred to June 24
The Calcutta High Court yesterday deferred to June 24 the hearing on the petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging her Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival Suvendu Adhikari's win in Nandigram constituency in recent state assembly elections.
The case was slated to be heard yesterday virtually by Justice Kausik Chanda this morning but Mamata's lawyer Soumendra Nath Mukherjee requested that the matter be deferred to next week.
The court accepted the request and listed the matter for next Thursday (June 24).
"Let the matter be listed next Thursday. In the meantime, the (High Court) Registrar shall file a report before this court as to whether the petition has been filed in conformity with the Representation of People Act (of 1951)," the Calcutta HC directed in its order yesterday.
Even though Mamata lost in Nandigram, she was sworn in as Chief Minister for a third consecutive term on May 5, three days after West Bengal poll results were declared.
Under Indian law, Mamata has to get elected to the state assembly within six months of her assumption of office of Chief Minister.
Mamata, in her petition, has sought that Suvendu Adhikari's election be set aside on three grounds --alleged corrupt practices, promotion of hatred and enmity, seeking votes on the basis of religion and booth capture and alleged discrepancies in the vote-counting procedure.
Mamata's petition also questioned the decision of the Election Commission to reject her plea for a recount of votes.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) returned to power in the recent assembly poll for a third consecutive five-year term but Mamata lost to her former aide Suvendu Adhikari, who is now the leader of the opposition in the state legislature, by a margin of 1,956 votes.
The defeat in Nandigram was Mamata's first loss in an election in over three decades.