On September 4, the EC announced election date for the upcoming WB bypoll where the TMC’s supremo Mamata Banerjee will be put in a must-win situation. The elections will be held for the crucial Bhabanipur Assembly in West Bengal on September 30.
For the politically uninitiated, the TMC Supremo, who had earlier lost her Nandigram seat, is not currently serving as an MLA. Thus, she must win the upcoming election to remain as the West Bengal Chief Minister.
Details
West Bengal is once again going to go through the ebbs and flows of an election cycle – albeit not as big as it witnessed during the Assembly Elections which concluded in April 2021. This time, a bypoll is scheduled for the Bhabanipur seat – a stronghold of TMC leader Mamata Banarjee. The election will take place on September 30 and the votes will be counted on October 3.
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Election Dates for Samserganj and Jangipur also Announced
The Election Commission also announced vote dates of bypoll elections of the Samserganj and Jangipur seats in West Bengal and Pipli seat in Odisha. As per the apex election body, the voting for these three seats will also be held on September 30. Much akin to Bhabanipur bypoll, the votes will be counted on October 3.
Why CM Banerjee is in a Must Win Situation?
According to Indian constitution, a CM, who’s not an elected legislator, must be elected within the 6 months of his/her appointment as CM. Thus, in this situation, Ms. Banerjee must find a way to get in the Assembly to retain her position as the West Bengal Chief Minister. Prior to the announcement by EC, Sohadeep Chattopadhyaya already vacated his Bhabanipur seat to clear the path for Ms. Banerjee.
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TMC Insistent on Conducting the Bypoll
The announcement of a bypoll comes after a lot of pulling-pushing by TMC that continued insisting on the elections to be held in the state. The TMC submitted to the EC that as the COVID-19 situation is under control in the state, the bypolls can be held.
Earlier in July, CM Banerjee claimed that the situation in the state is “conducive” for the bypolls. “With the COVID-19 positivity rate having come down to 1.5 per cent in Bengal, the situation is conducive to conduct the by-elections as most of the poll-bound areas haven’t reported any fresh infection of late,” CM Banerjee said.
But What about the COVID-19 Situation?
Many would remember the COVID-19 pandemic turning into a political tug-of-war with both TMC and BJP blaming each other for the rise in daily active cases.
TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and BJP’s face and India’s PM Narendra Modi were criticised for holding massive rallies where people were seen flouting COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. As a result of campaigning, COVID-19 cases I state had quadrupled by April 20 from the beginning of the month.
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New COVID-19 rules passed by EC
Taking heed to that, the EC passed more stringent rules that will be put in place in light of the still persisting pandemic in West Bengal. According to reports, indoor rallies will only see 30% of total capacity or maximum of 200 persons at one time. Outdoor rallies will be allowed with 50% of total capacity or maximum 500 persons at one time.
Further, vehicle use will also be curbed as only 20 vehicles can be used by a party during campaigning. For door-to-door campaigning, political leaders will be accompanied by only 4 persons at one time.
