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    SC raises doubts over too many ‘uncontested’ wins

    Synopsis

    The state election commission has already declared results in 20,159 seats of the total of over 68,000 seats for which elections were held.

    mamtabanerjee-bccl
    The opposition in the state had accused CM Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party of intimidating opposition candidates to leave the contest.
    The Supreme Court on Tuesday tore into the recently held panchayat elections in Bengal, saying over 30% of “uncontested” wins cast doubts over the “purity” of the poll process, and demanded explanations from the state before it could accept the results.

    The state election commission has already declared results in 20,159 seats of the total of over 68,000 seats for which elections were held. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said it would not accept these results at face value alone.

    “So many uncontested seats show that chapter IX (providing for Panchayati Raj institutions) is not working out. We won’t go by the declaration,” the CJI said, demanding further explanations from the state on the figures for the uncontested seats.

    The opposition in the state had accused CM Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress party of intimidating opposition candidates to leave the contest. “If the figures are right, the figures are right. But if there were no concerns there would be no litigation. This high percentage is puzzling. It seems there is something of concern here,” the CJI observed. “File an affidavit (defending the high uncontested wins) by tomorrow (Wednesday),” the court told the state government.


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