Bad timing

EC rejected the nomination of Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya

The Election Commission rejected the nomination of Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, former Kolkata mayor and Left Front candidate for Rajya Sabha, on Monday. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had decided to field Bhattacharya as the Left Front candidate after the party’s central committee had voted against nominating party chief Sitaram Yechury with Congress support. Following this, the Congress fielded its own candidate. The Bengal unit of the CPI (M) was not in favour of fielding a candidate against the Congress as they argued it would bring the Congress and Trinamool Congress closer. In the event, Bhattacharya, a noted lawyer, found his nomination rejected as the returning officer said he submitted the papers at 3.05 pm, when the cut-off was 3 pm. 

The party said Bhattacharya submitted his papers at 2.58 pm. The delay in filing of the nomination was because he “forgot” to file an affidavit stating he doesn’t live in a government accommodation, and hence has no pending dues to the government. The cancellation of his nomination means that the Congress candidate would be elected unopposed, something that the CPI (M)’s Bengal unit had argued for.