Kolkata, June 18 (IANS) West Bengal Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim on Wednesday accused the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of awarding a tender for election-related work to a Gujarat-based entity while declining the claims from state-based entities who had also participated in the tendering process.

Speaking in the Assembly, the minister said that the office of the CEO has floated a tender for election-related work for the bypolls for the Kaliganj Assembly constituency.

“A number of entities from West Bengal participated in the tendering process. However, the tender was awarded to a Gujarat-based entity. Why are the entities from West Bengal being deprived in such cases,” Hakim questioned.

Kaliganj is among the five assembly constituencies scattered in four states that will be going for bypolls on Thursday. The counting will be held on June 23. The other four constituencies that will be going for polls will be Kadi and Visavdar in Gujarat, Ludhiana-West in Punjab, and Nilambur in Kerala.

Bypolls for the Kaliganj Assembly constituency were necessitated following the demise of Trinamool Congress legislator Nasiruddin Ahmed in February this year at the age of 70.

The bypolls for Kaliganj on Thursday will be a three-way contest involving Trinamool Congress, BJP and Congress-supported by CPI(M).

Trinamool Congress had filed Alifa Ahmed, the daughter of the deceased party legislator from the same constituency. Her target is to exceed the winning margin of 46,987 votes achieved in 2021 by her father.

For the BJP candidate Ashish Ghosh, the challenge is to transfer the growing grievances of people on these issues in his favour. His strong point is his organisational abilities as well as his clean and son-of-the-soil image.

For Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh, the target is to ensure the consolidation of the dedicated and remaining vote banks of both Congress and the Left Front in Kaliganj.

–IANS

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