TMC urges ECI to remove Bhabanipur returning officer, claims he has ‘links’ with BJP

The TMC has demanded that the poll panel remove Surajit Roy as the Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency’s returning officer, alleging he has close links with BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is locked in an intense fight with incumbent MLA and CM Mamata Banerjee in the seat.

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner and West Bengal’s chief electoral officer on March 24, the TMC’s National Working Committee member Derek O’Brien claimed that Mr. Roy, a WBCS officer of the 2011 batch, was previously posted as block development officer of Nandigram-II Block and is “widely known” to be closely associated with Mr. Adhikari.

“There exist credible apprehensions regarding the independence and ability of Surajit Roy in discharging his duties as returning officer,” Mr. O’Brien wrote.

He claimed that Mr. Adhikari’s candidature from Bhawanipur gives rise to “a reasonable likelihood of bias and lack of neutrality.”. The TMC also questioned Mr. Roy’s current designation as Additional Director of Land Records, saying it does not align with his seniority and that the position has conventionally been held by officers at the joint secretary level.

The party urged the Election Commission to immediately set aside Mr. Roy’s appointment, remove him from all election-related duties, and appoint “an independent, neutral and senior officer with no perceived political affiliation” as the returning officer for Bhabanipur.