No Stay On Bhabanipur Bypolls: Mamata Banerjee Has To Win To Continue As CM

Mumbai: The Calcutta High Court’s decision to not put a stay on the upcoming Bhabanipur bypoll which is scheduled to be held on September 30, is a huge relief for Mamata Banerjee.

This decision came after a petition was filed that had claimed that the Election Commission had noted that it had decided to conduct the Bhabanipur by-poll “considering the constitutional exigency and special request from the state of West Bengal”.

The High Court gave its nod for the September 30 by-election while hearing this petition.

It may be noted that the court had also expressed objections to West Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi’s letter to the poll panel which stated that there would be a ‘constitutional crisis in the state if the elections in Bhabanipur were not held immediately.

Mentioning the chief secretary’s letter, the EC had informed the court why it decided to hold the polls in Bhabanipur.

The poll panel’s response came after earlier the Calcutta HC had asked it to file a plea regarding the contents of the notification issued by it in view of the arguments raised by the petitioner. The court had asked the EC to explain why did the commission think that if a by-election is not held in Bhabanipur, it would lead to a constitutional crisis.

“Some people contest elections and win and then they resign for various reasons. Now someone is resigning to give someone a chance to win from the seat again. Who will bear the cost of this election? Why should the taxpayer’s money be spent for this election,” the bench asked.

The Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had lost the West Bengal elections to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram. Despite her loss, she continued as the Chief Minister of Bengal. However, Banerjee will have to get elected as an MLA by October to continue in the post.

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