Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress Saturday said there is no valid reason for holding elections in seven phases for the 42 seats in West Bengal, asserting that more phases help political parties with deeper pockets.
It also claimed that the Election Commission did not take into account the West Bengal government’s suggestion of holding the elections in a single phase or two phases in the state.
“We wanted a single or twin phase Lok Sabha election in the state. Our views were that a multiple-phase election helps political parties with deeper pockets, and gives them an advantage over others,” state Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said, addressing a press conference.
“The 2021 assembly elections were held in eight phases and it was said that this was being done due to the pandemic. So now, what is the reason for holding elections in seven phases? There is no valid reason,” she added.
Bhattacharya said her party hoped that the Election Commission would work in an “impartial” way.
TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray claimed that not taking into account the state government’s views was a disregard for the federal structure of the country.
“The state government’s views were not taken into account. This is a disregard for the federal structure. We fail to understand the reasons for holding such a long election. This is quite surprising,” he said.
The 42 seats of West Bengal will be voting in seven phases, beginning April 19. Besides West Bengal, the states where elections are being held in all seven phases are Bihar and UP.
The last phase of polling is June 1 and the votes will be counted June 4.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the TMC won 22 seats, the BJP bagged 18 and the Congress won two seats in the state.
PTI