Kolkata, Oct 16 (IANS) The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Thursday, sought the attention of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on an instance that booth level officers (BLOs) are being introduced at the dais of a political programme of the Trinamool Congress at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district.

LoP Adhikari has also shared a video showing these BLOs being introduced at the political programme of Trinamool Congress on his official X account.

IANS, however, could not check the authenticity of the video.

According to LoP Adhikari, all these BLOs, who were seen openly participating in the Trinamool Congress meeting, were from the 224 Kharagpur Sadar constituency in West Midnapore district.

He added that during this meeting, the BLOs were introduced by Trinamool Congress leader from the West Midnapore district, Debasish Chowdhury.

“This is nothing short of a direct assault on the principles of free and fair elections,” LoP Adhikari said.

He had also named these eight BLOs, along with their respective booth numbers, while drawing the attention of the ECI in the matter.

“These officers, all of them school teachers, are entrusted with the sacred duty of ensuring impartiality at the grassroots level, but are instead hobnobbing with TMC leaders in broad daylight! This reeks of institutionalised bias, where the very guardians of democracy are puppets in the hands of Mamata Banerjee’s autocratic regime. How can we expect fair polls when BLOs are publicly aligning with the ruling party, potentially manipulating voter lists, intimidating Opposition workers, and tilting the scales in TMC’s favour?” LoP Adhikari said on his official X post.

He had also requested ECI to take immediate cognisance of the matter and initiate stringent action against these BLOs.

“These biased officers must be suspended forthwith and barred from any involvement in the upcoming elections. A thorough investigation is warranted to uncover the full extent of TMC’s infiltration into the electoral machinery. Failure to act decisively will only embolden such corrupt practices and erode public faith in our democratic institutions,” LoP claimed.

–IANS

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