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The West Bengal State Election Commission has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Calcutta High Court’s order directing it to accept e-mail nominations for the ensuing panchayat elections.
With its order on Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court had set a precedent.
Responding to a petition filed by the CPI(M), Justices Biswanath Somadder and Arindam Mukherjee directed the State Election Commission to accept “valid nominations” filed through e-mail within 3 pm on April 23. “Filing of nomination through e-mail invariably prevents large-scale violence centering around the panchayat elections,” the court said.
The petition alleged that candidates were physically prevented from filing nominations. and many were forced to send the nomination by e-mail.
According to Biswanath Chakraborty, a professor of political science in city-based Rabindra Bharati University, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has such poll provisions, which is sparsely used.
‘Historic verdict’
“This is a historic verdict. This is the first instance of a court instructing a State election Commission to accept e-mail nominations,” Chakraborty told BusinessLine .
The verdict will expand the democratic freedom of citizens. It will reduce bloodshed during nomination filing, which has become a norm since 1990s, he said.
The High Court directive came amidst allegations of unprecedented violence by the ruling Trinamool Congress against Opposition candidates. Approximately, 35 per cent of the 58,792 seats in the three-tier rural body elections went uncontested.
Violence during polls is nothing new in West Bengal. But, this time it was on a scale rarely seen before. In 2003, during the Left rule, 12 per cent seats went uncontested. In 2013, when Mamata Banerjee was in power, 11 percent seats went uncontested.
According to CPI(M) Central Committee member Rabin Deb, at least 800 such party candidates filed nomination by e-mail. The total number of such candidates is not yet known.
Controversies
Panchyat elections this time have been controversial from the word go. As per the original schedule, the poll was scheduled to be completed by May 5. The date was rescheduled to May 14 following a court order to the SEC to reopen the nomination filing window.
There is high possibility that the poll dates will be rescheduled again if the Supreme Court does not stay Monday’s verdit. Also, a separate case is pending in the high court, challenging the security arrangements for the poll.
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